Golden Ticket out of the Breeders’ Cup due to high fever
Winner of the Grade 1 Travers Stakes at Saratoga in a dead heat with Alpha, Magic City Thoroughbred Partners’ Golden Ticket is set to take a giant leap over the Breeders’ Cup World Championships, as he was not pre-entered in the Grade 1, $5 million Breeders’
Cup Classic set to go underway on 3 November, 2012, at Santa Anita Park.
On 23 October, 2012, trainer Ken McPeek said that the time of return for the 3-year-old is undecided yet, and he himself doesn’t know when his colt will race next. The horseman’s decision came after Golden Ticket turned in a poor work ahead of the Classic
over Keeneland’s Polytrack by timing his entire work in 1 minute and 2.40 seconds on 20 October, 2012.
"He worked really poor on Saturday and I was not happy," McPeek said. We scoped him after the work and he was really clogged and had a lung infection."
The WinStar Farm bred Golden Ticket, spiked up a 103-degree fever, and consequently his white blood cell count escalated, which prompted McPeek to not ship the colt to California, however, he will be nominated for the Grade 1 Clark Handicap at Churchill
Downs, but running it will be totally dependent on how the colt feels at that time.
"We postponed the decision until 11 yesterday morning, but it was pretty obvious he was not 100 percent," the trainer remarked. "Our goal is to get him ready for next year and have him compete with the top older horses. He will be out for a period of time."
The dark bay colt by Speightstown ran once after the Travers Stakes, and that was on 22 September, 2012, at Parx Racing when he finished third to the front running winner, Handsome Mike, in the Grade 2, $1 million Pennsylvania Derby, as Macho Macho finished
second.
The Travers Stakes was Golden Ticket’s second career victory since breaking his maiden at 6th attempt, but then onward he finished second in the Grade 2 Tampa Bay Derby, fifth in the Grade 3 Coolmore Lexington Stakes, and second again in an allowance
optional claimer at Churchill Downs.
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