Oscar Performance on Sunday morning still was walking sound with no overt sign of injury after being pulled up in the closing stages of the Arlington Million and taken off the course in an equine ambulance.
Oscar Performance, the Million favorite, broke a half-step slow from the outside gate in a 9-horse field, was briefly impeded by Robert Bruce to his inside, but got into a solid forward position of the race. Trainer Brian Lynch said Oscar Performance “appeared to be travelling fine down the backstretch” but the colt had no punch in the stretch and was fading out of contention when jockey Jose Ortiz pulled him up past the eighth pole.
Ortiz said after the race he felt Oscar Performance take two bad steps and that he pulled his horse up out of an abundance of caution. Oscar Performance walked onto the ambulance with no sign of lameness, cooled out without incident last night, and on Sunday still was demonstrating no sign of an injury.
“Nothing showed up yet today,” Lynch said.
Nevertheless, Oscar Performance, Lynch said, was on his way to Kentucky on Sunday rather than heading back home to New York. He’ll go to the Rood and Riddle clinic and get a thorough going-over from Dr. Larry Bramlage on Monday.