Owner Spendthrift Farm announced on January 29 that the gray foal is temporarily sidelined after being diagnosed with bone bruises. Citing Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher, Spendthrift said the son of Into Mischief showed signs of discomfort after a recent breeze, prompting further evaluation.
That breeze was a half-mile workout in :50.81 at Palm Beach Downs in South Florida on Jan. 23, a day after he was formally honored with an Eclipse Award. It was his second timed practice of the new year, after an initial three-furlong move on January 16 in :37.01.
“Since his last breeze, he has not been moving as well as normal,” Pletcher said in a Spendthrift press release. “Out of an abundance of caution, we had him thoroughly examined and the diagnosis came back as bruised condyles. Normally this issue takes about 90 days to resolve, so we will look to resume training around May 1.”
The Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs is on May 2, leaving him with insufficient preparation. A return to training in May, if all goes well, will likely mean a return to racing in the summer after the Triple Crown. The second leg of the Triple Crown, the Preakness Stakes, is two weeks after the Derby, and the third and final leg of the series, the Belmont Stakes, is another three weeks after the Preakness.
Ted Noffey went 4-for-4 as a junior last year, winning his debut at Saratoga Race Course before stringing together three straight top-level victories in the Spendthrift Farm Hopeful Stakes, Claiborne Breeders’ Futurity and FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance.
The colt was named after a transposed social media post intended to describe Spendthrift Farm general manager Ned Toffey.
“Obviously we’re disappointed,” Toffey said. “But after conversations with Todd, the veterinary team, and [Spendthrift] owners Eric and Tammy Gustavson, we all agree that releasing the colt is the right decision. Our priority is his long-term health and career. With proper rest and attendance, we hope he will be back and ready to compete later this summer and fall.”
Spendthrift Farm will continue to provide updates on Ted Noffey’s progress, the farm added in the release.
Many pundits and the betting public believed that Ted Noffey possessed the characteristics to possibly become only the third Breeders’ Cup Juvenile to win the Kentucky Derby six months later. Only Street Sense (2006-’07) and Nyquist (2015-’16) had managed the elusive double.
Ted Noffey, who had led BloodHorse’s Derby Dozen through the first two weeks, was the 6-1 favorite among the individual betting odds in the most recent Kentucky Derby Future Wager that ended Jan. 18. “All Other 3-Year-Olds,” often referred to as “the field” and representing horses not among the 39 individual choices listed separately by Churchill Downs, led the betting at odds of 7-2.
Ted Noffey’s setback leaves a wide-open Kentucky Derby picture three months later.
Even with Ted Noffey out, Spendthrift Farm still has a leading contender for the 1 1/4-mile Derby in the Brad Cox-trained Further Ado, winner of the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes last fall at Churchill Downs.
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