Rockport Harbor off Triple Crown trail
PHILADELPHIA - Rockport Harbor, a former top contender for the Kentucky Derby, is off the Triple Crown trail.
Owner Rick Porter decided not to run the injury-plagued 3-year-old colt in any Triple Crown races after a poor showing in the Lexington Stakes on Saturday, the final prep race for the Derby.
Rockport Harbor trainer John Servis and jockey Stewart Elliott, who helped lead Smarty Jones to wins in the Derby and Preakness Stakes last year, will now point the colt toward stakes races in the summer.
Rockport Harbor was sixth in a seven-horse field at the Lexington Stakes at Keeneland on Saturday, a finish that prompted Porter to make a tough decision.
"We could probably get him ready for the Preakness and the Belmont, but in our judgment, giving him a break and pointing to some good summer stakes is the better option for him," Porter said Sunday in a posting on Rockport Harbor's Web site.
Unbeaten in four starts as a 2-year-old, Rockport Harbor has struggled with health problems, including a gash in his right rear leg and a blood clot in his neck.
In his only other race this year, Rockport Harbor finished second by a half-length to Greater Good in the Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park.
"He has missed a lot of training and gotten off his schedule for the Triple Crown," Porter said. "He will ship back to Philadelphia Park ... and resume training.
"When John (Servis) feels he is settled enough and training great, we will look for a race. Some early thoughts are to eventually point for the Haskell or Travers."
Watch the Kentucky Derby on NBC (Saturday at 5 p.m. ET).
Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press
