The Belmont Stakes continues to set up perfectly for American Pharoah’s run at Triple Crown immortality. He’ll now face only seven challengers on Saturday at Belmont Park as two horses have scratched from the race. The Truth or Else and Carpe Diem are out of the race.
The Truth or Else was scratched following a Monday workout where he didn’t ‘look right’. Trainer Ken McPeak says that the injury is minor, described as a filling in his ankle which he likely suffered in a Saturday jog. McPeak went to Twitter to explain the situation and give a shout out to American Pharoah in his Triple Crown bid: “”We will give him the time he needs and bring him back when he’s 100%. We believe he did this galloping Saturday. Minor but everything happens for a reason. Good Luck to AP!”
The reason for the withdrawal of Todd Pletcher’s Carpe Diem are less obvious. WinStar Farms is a co-owner of Carpe Diem and stable president Elliot Walden made the somewhat cryptic statement that Pletcher ‘wasn’t happy with his gallop’. Pletcher expressed concerned that something might be wrong with the horse but since Carpe Diem’s connections are already planning his next race that doesn’t appear to be the case.
Walden expounded on the situation, essentially saying in a round about way that ‘Todd didn’t want to run’: “Todd just wasn’t happy with his gallop this morning in the way that he just felt like he’s not 100 percent. There is nothing major wrong with him, it’s just does he give Todd a feel that he’s going to go over there and run his eyeballs out. And Todd … just didn’t feel like he was ready to run a blinder.”
According to Walden, it wasn’t a matter of performance: “His times for his last two breezes have been great. It was a tough decision but at the same time, it was an instinct or a gut decision. And I’ve always found Todd to be real good with those decisions.”
The next race for Carpe Diem is likely to be the Grade II Jim Dandy at Saratoga on August 1 or the Grade I Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park on August 2. Carpe Diem last ran in the Kentucky Derby, finishing a disappointing 10th.