Successful Dan forced from Whitney

Jul 28, 2012 - 9:03 PM Saratoga Springs, NY (Sports Network) - Whitney Handicap contender Successful Dan has been withdrawn from the race with an injury. The six-year-old left Saratoga for the Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital in Kentucky on Saturday morning.

Successful Dan, trained by Charles Lopresti, will be examined by Dr. Larry Bramlage for a problem in the gelding's left-front pastern.

"I've been watching it, and it won't go down, and it's a place where he had an injury in '09 as a three-year-old," Lopresti said. "He's not lame or anything; he's been on the track every day. Even if it's just a strain, we don't want to take a chance like that. It's sad; it's unfortunate. He's been plagued with nagging injuries all his life, and we haven't seen the best of him."

Winner of this year's Alysheba at Churchill Downs, Successful Dan had a clean ultrasound examination before leaving for Kentucky.

"There is no tear," Lopresti said. "Dr. Bramlage, we sent everything to him. He knows that horse inside out and upside down. He's got all the records. He knows everything about that horse. If there's any chance to bring him back, he'll tell me.

"I jogged [Successful Dan] on the track this morning, and he was full of himself. With a horse of that caliber, you have to be careful. To win a race like the Whitney, you have to be 100 percent. It's a really sad day for us."

Owned by Morton Fink, the gelding finished second in the Cornhusker Handicap on July 7 as the 1-2 favorite. He has won seven of 11 career starts for $656,608.