Lady Alexandra didn't ship to New York from her home base at the Fair Hill training center in Maryland on Wednesday after having a blood test that produced results "consistent with an infection," trainer Graham Motion texted Daily Racing Form's David Grening.

Hopefully whatever has Lady Alexandra's system askew resolves itself quickly. But from a different point of view the filly's absence really alters the Intercontinental.

Lady Alexandra was an impressive last-out winner of the License Fee Stakes at Belmont, was the 2/1 favorite on the track's morning line, and regardless of the specific win odds was going to take considerable betting. To me, she was a favorite worth trying to beat, and if you felt the same way, the appeal of a play on one of the other horses is muted by Lady A's defection.

In particular, people planning on betting La Sardane probably are not going to be enthused with her post-time odds. I wasn't the only person who thought La Sardane would have been, at most, half her 20/1 morning-line price, and that was with Lady Alexandra running. Now, it won't be surprising to me if she goes off as low as something like 9/2, though I still planning on getting involved, at least in vertical exotics, if not horizontals including the Intercontinental.