By Neto Baptiste
Equine thoroughbred, First Lady, may never run at the Cassada Gardens Race Track again, following the recommendation of one veterinarian that the horse be pulled from competition.
This was confirmed by the animal’s trainer and President of the Antigua Turf Club (ATC), Neil Cochrane, who said an examination on the horse – just prior to their last meet – revealed a significant injury.
“About a week before the race [Governor General’s Cup] there was a vet that came in to look primarily at some horses for Dr. Thwaites and he was one of the top guys out of Barbados. He did an x-ray – and everything is digital – so in seconds it popped up on his computer screen and, based on what he said, it is a particular type of deformity or separation in the sesamoid bone on her left hind leg,” he said.
The thoroughbred, who runs under the banner of the Chief Rocker Stables, has been out of competition for several months following difficulties running from the gates during races.
Cochrane said he was hoping to give First Lady a farewell run.
“His recommendation is that we no longer keep her in racing and that we need to take her to become a mom so at the end of the day that is what we are concentrating and focusing on with her. I don’t think she may ever race at the track again. I am tempted to ask for one race of Scrumpum and Massacre – those two in particular – against her, but it would have to be a flag start and I am willing to put in a little wager to make it exciting and make that be her last race,” he said.
Last year, First Lady was pulled following the second leg of the Triple Crown Series after the horse failed to run from the gate during the APUA Inet Sir Cuthwin Lake Super Sprint.
First Lady left the gate almost 15 seconds after the other horses had bolted, finishing at the back of the pack for the second time in the Triple Crown.