War Pass to miss Derby with Injury

Nick Zito often trains by instinct, and his instincts had been on high alert for the past week with War Pass. After War Pass initially came out of his gutsy runner-up effort in the Wood Memorial on April 5 at Aqueduct in good shape, and then traveled to Kentucky soon thereafter, Zito was not happy with the way War Pass had acted the past week at Churchill Downs. His instincts told him something was amiss, and late Friday he found it.
Zito announced early Saturday morning that X-rays taken Friday afternoon revealed a tiny fracture in a sesamoid bone in the left front leg of War Pass. The fracture, which Zito described as "very small," has very big ramifications. It removes War Pass from the May 3 Kentucky Derby, changes the complexion of the race because of the defection of a key front-runner, and improves the position of everyone on the graded stakes earnings list, since War Pass was ranked first, with $1.47 million.
"It's just been an uphill battle. It's been a tough winter," Zito said from Churchill Downs.
War Pass had a smooth 2-year-old campaign, with four wins in four starts, including a victory in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile that brought him the Eclipse Award as champion 2-year-old male. This year, though, War Pass had his 3-year-old debut delayed in Florida by a brief bout of colic, beat a soft field in his comeback race at Gulfstream, then finished last in the Tampa Bay Derby before a gut-wrenching effort in the Wood.
"The Wood was very tough on him," Zito said. "I think the injury must have happened in the Wood. He had a few good days when he first got to Kentucky, but then I had to back off on him."
Zito said "there's no question" War Pass can return from this injury and race again. War Pass is owned by Robert LaPenta, but his breeding rights have been sold to Lane's End Farm, where War Pass will stand at stud at the end of his racing career.
"Mr. LaPenta and Lane's End have been extremely supportive," Zito said.
War Pass had surgery on his left front ankle as a 2-year-old, which kept him out of a 2-year-old-in-training sale at which LaPenta had intended to sell him. Zito said that surgery was in a different area from the current injury.
Zito said the length of time War Pass would be off, and other possible treatment, would not be decided until noted surgeon Dr. Larry Bramlage, of the Rood and Riddle clinic in Lexington, Ky., reviewed War Pass's X-rays on Sunday.
Zito still has two candidates for the Derby in Anak Nakal and Cool Coal Man. Julien Leparoux has picked up the mount on Cool Coal Man, replacing Kent Desormeaux, who has opted to ride Big Brown, the current Derby favorite.

War Pass Follows Street Sense's Footsteps To The Derby

Tampa Bay Derby (G3) 

March 15, $300,000, 3yo, 11⁄16m, Tampa Bay Downs, 5:50 PM ET 

P Horse Sire Jockey Wt. Trainer 

1. Cigar Man DrewmaniSD Ronald Dale Allen Jr. 116 Kathleen O’Connell 

2. Gentleman James Yankee GentlemaniSD David D. Amiss 116 Myra Mora 

3. War Pass Cherokee RuniSD Cornelio H. Velasquez 122 Nicholas P. Zito 

4. Make Me Zach First Tour Jose Alberto Rivera II 116 Barry R. Rose 

5. Dynamic Wayne Eltish Pablo Morales 116 Dale Bennett 

6. Big Truck Hook and LadderiSD Eibar Coa 116 Barclay Tagg 

7. Atoned RepentiSD John R. Velazquez 116 Todd A. Pletcher 

Fountain Of Youth Results

Cool Coal Man, trained by Nick Zito and owned by Robert LaPenta won by a half-length to earn his first career stakes victory. Zito trains Cool Coal Man for LaPenta, who also owns unbeaten 2007 champion two-year-old male War Pass.

War Pass also raced yesterday at Giulfstream in an allowance race on the undercard of the Fountain of Youth and won by a convincing 7 3/4 lengths.

Cool Coal Man Win Fountain Of Youth

War Pass Wins Allowance in 2008 Debut

War Pass Back To Work

War Pass, the likely champion two year-
old male, breezed three furlongs
at Palm Meadows Training Center on
Thursday morning in his first workout
since his victory in the Bessemer
Trust Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) for
owner Robert LaPenta.
The undefeated Cherokee Run colt
was clocked in :37, the fifth fastest time
of 14 moves at the distance.
“He worked real nice doing it,” trainer
Nick Zito said. “He was just in a gallop.”
Zito and LaPenta are plotting a schedule for War Pass to race
three times leading up to the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum!
Brands (G1). Zito has tentatively selected the Tampa Bay Derby
(G3) on March 15 and the Wood Memorial Stakes (G1) on April 8
as the final two preps. He will wait until War Pass gets farther along
in his training before he picks out the first.
“We’ll play it by ear for the first one,” Zito said. “[The Tampa Bay
Derby and Wood Memorial] make sense to me. We’ll see if we can
go the mile-and-a-quarter.”
—Jeff Lowe