‘Minor hock issue’ takes Newgate off Triple Crown trail

Newgate, who narrowly won last weekend’s Grade 3 Robert B. Lewis Stakes at Santa Anita for trainer Bob Baffert, is off the Triple Crown trail because of what one of his owners described as a “minor” injury to a hind leg.

“(Three-year-old) Newgate has been diagnosed with a minor hock issue,” SF Racing managing partner Tom Ryan said in a Twitter post Friday morning. “Our vets have recommended 60-90 days before resuming training. His prognosis to return is excellent. We look forward to seeing him back this summer.”

FLASHBACK: Newgate wins Robert B. Lewis.

SF Racing and its partners, including Jack and Laurie Wolf with Starlight Racing and Sol Kumin’s Madaket Stables, paid $850,000 at a yearling sale to buy Newgate, a Kentucky-bred colt by Into Mischief out of the Majestic Warrior mare Majestic Presence.

After winning his first start last summer at Del Mar, Newgate lost his next four races, finishing fourth in the Del Mar Futurity (G1), fifth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile and then second to stablemates in the Bob Hope (G3) and in last month’s Sham Stakes (G3).

His bookend wins in his debut and against three other Baffert colts in the Bob Lewis were the only two times he was favored.

Newgate, who won with jockey Frankie Dettori last weekend, had been a top 20 betting option in Las Vegas futures for Kentucky Derby 2023. He was 65-1 at Circa Sports before he came off the board Friday. He still was showing at 25-1 at Caesars Sportsbook.

Because Baffert remains ineligible for direct entry into the Derby, Newgate was not included as an individual option in pool 4 of Churchill Downs’ pari-mutuel Kentucky Derby Future Wager that was scheduled to open Friday at noon EST.

Under new rules, Baffert has until Feb. 28 to transfer Derby candidates to other trainers in order to make them eligible for qualifying.

Baffert and his lawyers went to federal court in Louisville, Ky., last week seeking a preliminary injunction against Churchill Downs Inc. to erase his suspension brought on by the late Medina Spirit’s failed drug test after the 2021 Derby. There has been no ruling yet in that case.

As noted by the Santa Anita press office, Newgate's injury also is a blow to jockey Frankie Dettori, who has announced his retirement from the saddle at the conclusion of this year’s Breeders’ Cup. The international superstar who rode Newgate in his two most recent starts has stated that one of the reasons he came to Santa Anita to ride this winter was to boost his chances at picking up a Kentucky Derby mount.

Dettori's only ride in the 1 ¼-mile classic came in 2000 when he finished sixth aboard China Visit for Godolphin.