Saarland's Road to the Roses: Week 16
Surgery, travel and a little under two weeks to go for trainer Shug McGaughey's Kentucky Derby hopeful.
Seems like everyone was waiting to exhale last week. Owner Cynthia Phipps watched as her colt Saarland made his final pre-Kentucky Derby start. The fourth-place finish in the Wood Memorial. did just enough to gain Phipps her first trip to the Derby. Trainer Shug McGaughey looked on as a struggling pace and headwind hindered his colts chances at Aqueduct. They were just a few of the many anxious breaths this spring as McGaughey aimed for his first Derby in 13 years.
But most of all, Saarland was waiting to exhale. This week, we learn that the big horse is breathing much easier these days -- just in time for a trip to Louisville.
Tuesday, April 16
Last Saturday's Wood Memorial was followed by scheduled days off on Sunday and Monday for Saarland. This morning, under sultry, unseasonably warm temperatures, he returns to the track for a one-mile gallop. "He wasn't really perky this morning," exercise rider Juice Krajewski reports. Getting back to work after a long weekend and under the hot sun can do that you -- as we humans know.
Meanwhile, trainer Shug McGaughey works the phones today, calling veterinarian Dr. Mark Cheney in Kentucky. Saarland's Wood Memorial performance raised questions in jockey John Velazquezs mind, and his agent -- former Hall of Fame rider Angel Cordero -- relayed them to the stable. It seems Saarland was "holding his breath" the last quarter-mile of the Wood Memorial.
McGaughey wants the horse scoped to see if he had a displaced soft palate in the race, a fairly common occurrence where racehorses have their air supply hindered by an obstruction of their larynx. Cheney will fly to New York to expertly look over the Kentucky Derby hopeful. He's performed more than 200 surgeries of the kind.
Wednesday, April 17
Saarland gallops 1-1/2 miles this morning and Krajewski indicates that the colt exercises better than the previous day. Saarland returns to Barn 19 where Dr. Cheney arrives to examine his throat. The decision is made to perform a 10-minute surgical procedure called a tenectomy. Cheney will make a cut in the tendons of Saarland's throat and a small part of the muscle to release the pressure and pull that sometimes cause a palate to "flip". The tenectomy has replaced a more crude and involved myectomy in the veterinary field, whereas the muscles are cut and not the tendons.
"There are three or four reasons why a horse may displace his soft palate," Cheney says. "This is the most common one. Of those I've done, I'd say 50-60 percent it helped. They're back to the track in a day."
"It's no big deal really," McGaughey cautions. "Anyone who has trained horses has had this done to one of their own, and they'll all tell you its a very simple procedure. If it helps, sometimes it can help a lot. We've had it really help some of our horses in the past, like Coronados Quest."
To put the surgery in perspective, McGaughey says the bill for the procedure only runs between $100-$150 and is done right in the horses everyday stall.
Thursday, April 18
McGaughey gives Saarland a day off following the surgery, walking the shedrow for 45 minutes by hand. "They (vets) tell you that you can take the horse right back to the track the next day," McGaughey says. "I figured I would give him an extra day off. We've got plenty of time."
The Kentucky Derby is now 16 days away.
Friday, April 19
As planned, Saarland returns to the track this morning and turns in a solid one-mile gallop around the Belmont Park strip.
"He looks fine this morning," McGaughey says. "But you wouldn't expect any different. It was a minor, minor procedure. For us, it would be like cutting your finger and having two or three stitches. In fact, they dont even sew it back up after making the small incision on the horses neck. We gave him an easy mile and he went just fine."
Saturday, April 20
Saarland returns to his full 1-1/2 mile gallop distance this morning as the Kentucky Derby stands exactly two weeks away. All is well from the tenectomy as the colt enjoys a slight cooling of the temperatures from the weeks heat wave. He's also enjoying the low-profile confines of Belmont Park during the non-racing season.
"It's peaceful here at Belmont," McGaughey says. "Next week, we'll be in the mess of it all. I don't look forward to that honestly. It's so nice here. We got a few reporters coming by last week and calling but nothing big. That won't be the case next week."
Sunday, April 21
On the eve of his next major workout, Saarland gallops 1-1/2 miles around Belmont Park on a crisp, cold morning. Temperatures have dropped from the 90s to the 40s in a matter of days. McGaughey says Saarland was given his flu vaccination shot after the Wood Memorial, something horses generally get once a year.
"We don't want to give them a full cold-water bath on days like these," McGaughey says. "But the horses like it colder. We don't run into colds with horses so much when the weather changes, but you have to watch out when new horses ship into a track and bring the bugs with them."
Monday, April 22
McGaughey scopes the Belmont scene this morning and opts to hold Saarland's workout until after the 8 a.m. renovation break, hoping to get the best conditioned racing surface. "I out-foxed myself," he says. "We got rain during the break and they sealed the track." A sealed track is packed down tight so that rain lays on top and doesn't soak through.
Saarland steps through the water with a sensational half-mile workout under Juice Krajewski. McGaugheys watch stops in a bullet :47-1/5, as the colt gallops out a strong five furlongs in 1:00-4/5 and six panels in 1:12-1/5. How fast was the work? It marked the quickest of 40 horses to drill a half-mile this morning, and beat the vast majority of workouts by more than two full seconds.
"That's as quick as he's ever gone," McGaughey says. "He handled the track great and worked very well." Did the tenectomy play a role in Saarland's increased speed? "You know, I can't say it had anything to do with it," McGaughey flatly says. "I never heard him making any noises before, so I dont know if he improved his breathing. All I know is that Juice came back and said that the horses attitude seemed a little happier. He's never been a problem attitude-wise, but Juice said he feels happier than before."
THIS WEEKS EXTRA: TRAVEL PLANS
Pack your bags. After 115 days following Saarland's Road to the Roses, we're headed to Louisville.
Saarland has booked his first-class charter flight from New Yorks John F. Kennedy Airport to Standiford Field in Louisville. Destination Derby is set for Thursday. Groom Gilberto Torres and exercise rider Juice Krajewski will join Saarland on the flight and take care of the horse over the weekend at Churchill Downs.
The flight will be Saarlands first, having vanned to and from Florida this winter. "They've got this flying thing down to a science now," McGaughey says of the equine charter industry. "It rarely ever produces any problems for the horses."
Assistant trainer Robbie Medina, currently overseeing three horses for Team McGaughey in Lexington, KY, will also join the cast in Louisville. Trainer Shug McGaughey will fly to Louisville on Sunday, following some important weekend races for the stable in New York. The Big Apple contingent will remain under the care of assistant trainer Buzz Tenney during Derby week.
Once at Churchill Downs, he'll complete his Kentucky Derby 128 preparations, including his final major workout under the famed Twin Spires. McGaughey has penciled the Monday, April 29 in for Saarland's serious pre-Derby drill.
SERIES GOES DAILY THIS WEEK
Note that ESPN.com's coverage of Saarland's Road to the Roses will be updated daily beginning with Thursday's arrival in Louisville. Each day, we'll give you the inside look at his preparations from Churchill Downs with comments from those closest to the horse.
