NEWS
Nicanor grabs quarter in debut, finishes tenth
Posted: Saturday, January 31, 2009 6:54 PM
NICANOR
Adam Coglianese photo
by Mike Curry
Nicanor’s highly anticipated career debut did not end with a storybook finish on Saturday at Gulfstream Park.
Roy and Gretchen Jackson’s homebred three-year-old Dynaformer colt, a full brother to ill-fated 2006 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1) winner Barbaro, finished tenth of 12 three-year-olds in a one-mile maiden special weight race. Nicanor stumbled and was bumped at the start, surged into contention with a strong middle move, and flattened out on the far turn under Edgar Prado.
Prado, who was the regular rider of Barbaro, said after the race that Nicanor grabbed a quarter, which is a minor injury to the back of the hoof or foot caused by a horse stepping on itself.
"[Nicanor's] better than that. I've worked him in the mornings and he showed me a lot,” Prado said. “He broke really fast and unfortunately grabbed his left quarter. We'll just have to see how long it takes to heal, but I know he's better than that."
Warrior’s Reward, sent off at 30.50-to-1 odds, defeated Allrightsreserved by a length to prevail and completed one mile in 1:39.69 on a track rated as fast.
Trained by Michael Matz, who also conditioned Barbaro, Nicanor raced near the back of the 12-horse field early and appeared a bit rank in the opening stages as the 2.60-to-1 second betting choice. He rushed ahead from the inside and moved up to fifth after a half-mile in :48.03 but dropped out of contention shortly thereafter.
"He grabbed the quarter of the left front leg leaving the gate,” Matz said. “He wasn't comfortable, so Edgar just wrapped up on him."
Peter Brette, assistant to trainer Michael Matz and a former champion jockey in Dubai, said leading up to his debut that Nicanor made great progress in the previous six weeks. Brette said he matured both mentally and physically and showed ability on both grass and dirt. Matz said he considered a 1 1/16-mile turf race on February 7 for Nicanor, so a start on grass could be in his future.
“He’s very versatile,” Brette said. “I was always of the opinion Barbaro was a better horse on the turf anyway. We breezed [Nicanor] once on the turf and I was really pleased with him.”
Nicanor’s debut came two days after the two-year anniversary of Barbaro’s death. Barbaro captivated the United States with a 6 1/2-length romp in the 2006 Kentucky Derby and drew national attention for his fight for survival after shattering his right hind leg in the opening strides of the Preakness Stakes (G1). He was euthanized on January 29, 2007, after complications of laminitis left him without a good foot on which to stand.
For an Equibase chart, click here.
Mike Curry is a Thoroughbred Times TODAY editor
