Un Ojo will miss 2022 Kentucky Derby with bruised foot

Misfortune continues to befall one-eyed Un Ojo. And this time it cost him the most important race he would have ever run.

Veteran trainer Ricky Courville, who had never saddled a Kentucky Derby starter, was dealt a terrible blow when his star-crossed gelding developed a deep bone bruise in his left foot after a sharp workout on Saturday at Churchill Downs. The problem surfaced by the middle of the day on Sunday and received immediate attention.

“He got better, but not good enough to run,” said Courville, 53.

Un Ojo, owned by Cypress Creek Equine and Whisper Oaks Farm, will remain at Churchill Downs this week and continue to be treated with warm soaks before any decisions are made about what might be next.

The May 21 Preakness and the June 11 Belmont Stakes remain under consideration. Courville said of the latter, “I think he can go a mile and a half. It’s all up to how he heals up.”

Un Ojo became one of the feel-good stories of the Derby prep season when he shocked the racing world by winning the Feb. 26 Rebel Stakes (G2) at 75-1. Although he loomed as a Derby long shot, Courville is convinced his horse could have again beaten the odds.

“He worked better than most of the horses here for the Derby,” Courville said. “He was coming back and doing good, eating. It didn’t work out. I thought he was going to run a big race with the way he had been training.”

The son of the late Laoban had produced two impressive works since arriving at Churchill Downs. He was attended to by Clay Courville, 25, Ricky’s son and assistant. Un Ojo ranked second of 70 with a five-furlong drill in 59.40 on April 23. He came back a week later, breezing four furlongs in 47.60 to rank 14 of 133 at the distance.

Un Ojo’s Spanish name is derived from the loss of his left eye in a paddock accident when he was a yearling. His misfortune continued in the April 2 Arkansas Derby (G1), when he encountered so much trouble that he struck the rail en route to an eighth-place finish. He ripped open the skin beneath his left shoulder, requiring two staples to heal the gash.

And now a foot bruise at the worst possible time.

“It’s frustrating to get to this point,” Courville said. “I feel badly for everybody – the owner, Clay, me.”

Asked whether his one Derby shot might have passed him by, Courville expressed the hope that drives all trainers to awaken before dawn as part of a year-round quest.

“I think we’ve got some babies in the barn that we could potentially get back with next year. We have a group of good babies.”