Sacco: Joevia, 3rd in 2019 Belmont Stakes, likely to be retired

Michael and Jeff Fazio's Joevia, the third-place finisher in the 2019 Belmont Stakes, suffered an injury in his sixth-place finish in Saturday's Grade 3 Monmouth Cup and will likely be retired, trainer Gregg Sacco said.

"Unfortunately, he came out of the race with an injury and I'll take to the Fazio brothers and we'll determine it," Sacco said. "I don't know if he can come back and race at the high level he's been running out. We're leaning towards him being retired, unfortunately. It's nothing life-threatening."

Joevia, a 4-year-old son of Shanghai Bobby, won the 2019 Long Branch at Monmouth. In his next start, making his graded stakes debut, Joevia took the big step up in class and earned Sacco his first career black type in an American Classic, finishing only behind Tacitus and winner Sir Winston the Belmont Stakes at its famed 1½-mile distance.

"He gave us a lot of nice memories," Sacco said. "He ran well in the Belmont. It was a dynamite race. He's a very neat horse and he'll be missed. 

“Maybe he'll stand somewhere. I don't know yet. We'll look into it. He's a beautiful, well-made horse so maybe he'll have a second career as a stallion."