There could hardly be a better example of the agony and ecstasy of horse racing than the John D. Hertz Handicap Sunday at Arlington.
Track owner Dick Duchossois was on top of the world when he left his box after watching his Whadjathink, bred at his farm in Barrington, score an impressive 3 1/4-length victory.
But after Duchossois got down to the track, his emotions plunged. There would be no winner`s circle picture today.
”Coming down I heard someone mention they were unsaddling him, but I thought it was an inquiry,” Duchossois said.
Whadjathink was unsaddled on the far end of the clubhouse turn. He suffered an injury after the race as jockey Jorge Velasquez pulled him up.
”He has a fracture of the cannon bone and a fracture of the sesamoid (of the left hind leg). It doesn`t look very good,” said trainer Michael Whittingham. ”There is an extremely limited chance he may run again. It would take some kind of miracle. We will send the X-rays out and see what the best way is to make him get around.”
The injury halted high hopes Duchossois had for his latest star.
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”I`ve had things go bad with horses before but we looked at this horse as being a horse of the fans for Arlington,” he said. ”This was the one for the people out here and the people of the neighborhood; this was sort of their horse and represented Arlington and our fans whenever he ran.”
The 1 1/8-mile Hertz was merely a prep for bigger and better things for the star Illinois-bred. After winning the Arlington Classic June 22, the first test of the Mid-America Triple series, Whadjathink was pointed toward the second leg, the $300,000-guaranteed Grade II American Derby Aug. 3. The grade I Secretariat on the turf Sept. 2 completes the triple.
The son of Seattle Song was on his way to becoming one of the top runners in state-bred history. Whadjathink won $323,375 though he had only run eight times. The colt won five of those starts.
Whadjathink paid $2.40, $2.40 and $2.20.
Jockey released: Jockey Garrett Gomez was released from Northwest Community Hospital Saturday. The 19-year-old escaped serious injury when he was thrown to the track Wednesday.
Gomez received severe facial cuts in the accident. Agent Scott Hare said he also suffered two broken ribs, a hairline fracture of the shoulder blade and a possible chipped vertebra.
Lazaz OK: X-rays taken Saturday of the severely swollen left ankle of Laurance Armour favorite Lazaz were negative. The 6-year-old horse pulled up early in the race.
”He`s walking fine,” trainer John Brink said. ”We still don`t know what caused the injury, but he must have rapped himself during the race somehow.”
Million-bound: Trainer Bobby Frankel told a national television audience on CBS Sunday that his charge Exbourne will make his next start in the Arlington Million Sept. 1.
Exbourne defeated Forty Niner Days in the Caesars International Handicap at Atlantic City Sunday. The five-year-old son of Explodent has won five and finished second three times in eight starts this year.
Barn on fire: Arlington`s trainer standings don`t do Dave MacLean justice. The track program lists the top 15 conditioners, which excludes MacLean. But if the standings ran by percentage, he`d be right near the top.
MacLean has won races at a 45 percent clip (nine wins in 20 starts), and has been in the money 65 percent (13 of 20 starts).
Riders Shane Sellers and Kerwin Clark have done most of the winning for MacLean. Sellers has won five of seven starts for the trainer. Backers of MacLean and Clark would be $51 ahead if they bet $2 each time the two paired up. Clark has won three and finished second twice in two starts for the Canadian-born trainer.