On DRF today.....
Del Mar
Surf Cat, Lucky J. H. out till winter
By STEVE ANDERSEN
DEL MAR, Calif. - Surf Cat, the winner of three stakes earlier this year and one of the nation's leading older horses, will not start until the winter meeting at Santa Anita because of a recurring foot injury, trainer Bruce Headley said.
Surf Cat has not started since winning the Grade 2 Mervyn LeRoy Handicap on May 13, his third stakes win of the year. Headley said that Surf Cat emerged from that race with a bruised foot. Surf Cat later resumed training, but was turned out when the injury resurfaced.
Owned by Marsha Naify and Headley's wife, Aase, Surf Cat was not sent to Del Mar this summer, and is based at Headley's home, near Santa Anita.
"I'll leave him there until I feel like he's ready," Headley said.
Surf Cat, 4, has won seven of 11 starts and $562,420. Earlier this year, Surf Cat won the Potrero Grande and San Carlos handicaps for sprinters at Santa Anita. He missed the three-race Strub series at Santa Anita after severely grabbing a quarter last fall.
Lucky J. H. also sidelined
Lucky J. H., another promising older horse, is also out until Santa Anita, according to trainer Carla Gaines.
Lucky J. H. who won the Grade 3 Ack Ack Handicap at 7 1/2 furlongs on June 10, has been turned out at owner John Harris's farm since mid-July, and will be there for four months, Gaines said. Lucky J. H., 5, did not have any significant injuries, she said.
"There were not clinical signs [of injury], but it took him awhile to warm up," she said.
Gaines said in July that Lucky J. H. was battling a foot problem that kept him out of the San Diego Handicap on July 22. Lucky J. H. has won five of 11 starts and $330,435.
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