Epicenter has 'textbook' surgery; racing future is uncertain
Lexington, Ky.
Winchell Thoroughbreds’ Epicenter, winner of this year’s Travers Stakes (G1) and leader of the sophomore male division, underwent successful surgery at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital Sunday morning to repair a displaced condylar fracture to his right forelimb suffered during the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland on Nov. 5.
“He is out of surgery, he is out from under anesthesia, and he is up and walking around,” said David Fiske, manager for Winchell Thoroughbreds. “The word I got was that the surgery was textbook, uneventful, no complications, no surprises. He seems to be doing OK.”
Fiske added that Epicenter’s recovery will include 30 days of stall rest and 30 days of hand walking, after which he will be X-rayed again.
Trainer Steve Asmussen issued the following statement after the surgery.
“Epicenter had a lateral condylar fracture of his right front. This morning, Dr. Larry Bramlage inserted two screws to stabilize the injury and the horse is up and resting in his stall. After surgery, Dr. Bramlage and the Rood and Riddle team are very happy with how the surgery went and the prognosis is excellent for him to be a healthy sire.
"Ron Winchell, David Fiske and myself want to expressly thank Joel Rosario for getting him pulled up, the on-site veterinarians, Dr. Nick Smith, who treated Epicenter on the track, and Dr. Stuart Brown, who coordinated Epicenter’s transportation from the racetrack, with a police escort, directly to Rood and Riddle, Keeneland, and my assistants Scott Blasi and Sarah Campion, who stayed with Epicenter. Enough cannot be said how thankful we are for everybody's urgency to ensure Epicenter's well-being and everything that was put in place to make the diagnosis for the on-site care, the transportation, Dr. Bramlage meeting him at the clinic, and then the care he has received at Rood and Riddle by the entire staff."
Epicenter was pulled up midway through the backstretch by Rosario during the Classic, fitted with a splint and vanned off. Although no official decision has been made on whether the son of Not This Time will be retired, Fiske said it would be difficult for the bay colt to return to top-class company after such an injury.
“I think that’s to be determined (if he can come back and race),” Fiske said. “I would think, given the level at which he has raced in the past, that getting back to that level would be difficult after this injury. I think it’s probably happened before, but all injuries are different. We’ll just have to wait and see.
“We may just make a determination tomorrow or later in the week. He’s maybe not going to make it back to where he needs to be, so maybe we’ll just pull the plug. But at the moment, we’re taking a wait-and-see attitude.”
Trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, Epicenter came into the Classic off a 5 1/4-length victory in the Aug. 27 Travers Stakes (G1), where he bested the likes of dual Grade 1 winner Cyberknife, Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike and Preakness Stakes hero Early Voting. The only time Epicenter has been worse than second in 11 career starts came when he ran sixth in his career debut at Churchill Downs last September. He headed into this year’s Kentucky Derby as the favorite off the strength of victories in the Risen Star Stakes (G2) and Louisiana Derby (G2) at Fair Grounds.
After being upset in the first two legs of the Triple Crown, Epicenter took control of the 3-year-old male division this summer with a win in the Jim Dandy Stakes (G2) and his emphatic star turn in the 10-furlong Travers. Bred in Kentucky by Westwind Farms, Epicenter boasts six wins from 11 starts with earnings of $2,940,639.