In the thirty-four years since Affirmed won the Triple Crown, eleven horses have tasted victory during the first two legs and failed to close the deal at the Belmont. Many were hoping this year’s Derby and Preakness winner I’ll Have Another would break the curse, but sadly, it turns out that’s not going to happen. The brilliant horse has been scratched from the race and won’t get his shot at further glory.
The announcement came this afternoon following I’ll Have Another’s morning workout. His trainers had noticed some swelling in his left front tendon the night before. Everyone was hoping it would go down after today’s brief run, but when the condition flared up again, a doctor was called in. He diagnosed I’ll Have Another with early signs of tendinitis, an injury that requires an average of six months to heal. An immediate decision was made to retire the horse, and he will not compete again, regardless of how he improves.
According to ESPN, I’ll Have Another’s main trainer Doug O’Neill called the retirement a “huge disappointment”, but he stopped short of calling it a tragedy. A tragedy would have been if the horse ran, injured himself further and had to be put down. We now know that won’t happen. He’ll head off to a beautiful farm, living out the rest of his days siring as many offspring as he can.
Pop Blend’s thoughts go out to I’ll Have Another, as well as everyone who helped him achieve greatness along the way. Without him, the Belmont will be far less exciting, and the Triple Crown will have to wait at least one more year to be won again.
