Fabulous Strike has a lung infection and won't run in the Breeders'Cup Sprint, taking the likely second favorite out of the Oct. 27 race at Monmouth Park.
The 4-year-old gelding contracted the infection not long after a 5 3/4-length victory in the Grade 1 Vosburgh at Belmont Park on Sept. 30. He has been coughing and there is inflammation in his lungs.
Trainer Todd Beattie said Thursday that Fabulous Strike is undergoing a treatment program to deal with his condition.
"He came out of the race fine and then, two days later, he started to carry a small fever and he just didn't respond to dedication,"Beattie said. "We did an ultrasound and we do have a lung infection and his blood tests show he has one, so we are treating him aggressively for it. It just doesn't allow me enough time to think we could have him completely healed and ready to go for that big of an event."
"Naturally we are devastated," Beattie said. "We really thought the way he ran in the Vosburgh that if we had been able to lead Fabulous Strike over to the Sprint in good shape, that he had a very good chance to win the race."
Fabulous Strike, a winner of 3 of 4 starts in 2007, is owned by Walter Downey.
"He'll be on two antibiotics for a month," Downey said, "and the vets will check him every week. He's so valuable to us, we're going to be very conservative with him. There aren't many sprint races late in the year for him, so we'll just try, if everything works out, to set up the same schedule next year to get him to the Breeders'Cup, giving him four or five prep races. We were so looking forward to going to Monmouth."
Fabulous Strike, who has earned $632,832 in nine career victories, also won the Aristides Stakes on June 2 at Churchill Downs and would have been the first Breeders'Cup starter for Beattie."I haven't run into a bigger disappointment in my career"Beattie said.
Meanwhile, Country Star, the winner of the $500,000 Alcibiades at Keeneland on Oct. 5, will skip the Breeders'Cup to rest until 2008, said trainer Bobby Frankel.
Country Star was making only her second career start when rallying to win the Alcibiades and would have been one of the favorites for the Breeders'Cup Juvenile Fillies race.
"We want to have a nice filly next year,"Frankel said. "I hope she's a superstar."
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