Havre de Grace injured, retired

"It is with great disappointment that I have to announce that Havre de Grace has been retired," Porter said. "After her work (Sunday) at Churchill, a little heat was noted in her right front ankle. Still there (Monday) morning, Grace was sent to Rood & Riddle (equine clinic in Lexington, Kentucky) to be seen by Dr. Larry Bramlage. Unfortunately, we didn't get a positive prognosis for continuing her racing career."

The veterinary report provided on the Fox Hill Farms website shows x-rays of Havre de Grace's injured lateral ligament. Dr. Bramlage described the prognosis as "unfavorable, for complete resolution" in the report.

"This is just one of many ligaments that support the fetlock by attaching to the base of the sesamoid," Bramlage stated. "Unfortunately with one injured the remaining ligaments become progressively more vulnerable, and they would sequentially become injured if we trained on. These are slow healing and are prone to re-occur once injured the first time.

"In a lesser horse we would rehabilitate, probably using stem cell therapy, but it takes a year to fully resolve, and it usually reduces a horse's quality. In her instance this is not acceptable, and so we should probably stop her race career.

"She needs 60 days of stall rest and hand walking before turning out. She needs no special therapy if we are not going to train again as the remaining ligaments are intact because this was identified so early in the course of the problem. She will be fine as a broodmare."

A daughter of 2005 Horse of the Year Saint Liam, Havre de Grace was prepping for the Grade 2 La Troienne on May 4 at the time of her retirement.

Havre de Grace began her career with trainer Tony Dutrow and raced twice as a juvenile at Delaware Park, finishing third in her debut and then winning a maiden special weight at one mile and 70 yards. Both races were originally scheduled for the turf.

Havre de Grace ran second by narrow margins in her first three outings as a sophomore in 2010, including a neck loss in the Go for Wand at Delaware and a nose defeat to Blind Luck in the Grade 2 Delaware Oaks. Havre de Grace and Blind Luck would meet five more times in what would become one of the closest and intense rivalries in modern times.

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Havre de Grace injured, retired