Report: Wood Memorial runner-up Grande has ankle chip removed

Grande, who has not raced since finishing second in the Grade 2 Wood Memorial on April 5, will miss summer racing after having an ankle chip removed.

The injury and surgery were reported by David Grening of Daily Racing Form. Trainer Todd Pletcher, who conditions Grande for Mike Repole, told Grening that the colt returned to training after being scratched from the Kentucky Derby, but then he missed training time because a temperature and then was diagnosed with "a little flake in an ankle." He could return to the races in the fall.

Grande is a son of Curlin out of the Grade 3-winning War Front mare Journey Home. He broke his maiden on debut Jan. 11 in a maiden special weight at Gulfstream going a mile on dirt, followed by an allowance win there Feb. 27 going 1 1/8 miles. He stepped up to graded company April 5 for the Wood Memorial, where a second-place finish behind Rodriguez earned him a ticket to the Kentucky Derby.

But Grande was scratched from the Kentucky Derby the day before the race with a foot bruise. Repole said in a post on X the day of the scratch that Grande had a "slight cracked heel" but described scans taken during the week as "clean." It was the second time in three years that a horse trained by Pletcher for Repole was scratched the week of the Kentucky Derby, as morning-line favorite Forte was scratched on Kentucky Derby day in 2023.