Summer Squall, Early Favorite for ’90 Derby, Suffers Fracture

Summer Squall, the undefeated 2-year-old colt who was the future-book favorite for next year’s Kentucky Derby, has suffered a hairline fracture of the cannon bone of his lower right foreleg and won’t run again this year.

Summer Squall, whose schedule had been altered earlier because of a bruised foot, will be shipped from Keeneland in Lexington, Ky., to Dogwood Stables’ training center in Aitken, S.C.

Cot Campbell, who manages the Dogwood racing syndicate, said that the son of Storm Bird and the grandson of Secretariat probably won’t return to training until mid-December. The break is expected to heal without surgery.

“He was training good after getting over the bruised foot, then on Monday he didn’t train so good,” Campbell said. “We had him X-rayed and found the fracture. It’s about one inch long. It’s not good that this has happened, but it could be a whole lot worse.”

Summer Squall, who was purchased for $300,000, has won all five of his races, the most recent being the Hopeful at Saratoga. Trainer Neil Howard was preparing him for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Gulfstream Park on Nov. 4. Campbell said that Summer Squall will be returned to Howard at Gulfstream in late January, with a Florida route to Churchill Downs planned.

Red Ransom and Magical Mile, two other top 2-year-olds, are also out for the year because of injuries. Bob Gregorka, future-book line maker for the Sands Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, said that Adjudicating now becomes a lukewarm favorite for the Derby. Adjudicating, who finished fourth, 5 1/4 lengths behind Summer Squall, in the Hopeful, won the Cowden last Saturday at Belmont Park.

“I feel that Summer Squall still has a chance for the Eclipse Award (for best 2-year-old colt),” Campbell said. “But of course if some horse would come up and win both the Champagne and the Breeders’ Cup, that would give the voters something else to think about.”