ARCADIA, Calif. – An untimely setback has derailed Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile winner Full Serrano, whose potentially lucrative winter campaign was originally scheduled to begin Dec. 26 in the Grade 2 Laffit Pincay Jr. Stakes on opening day at Santa Anita.
“He’s going to be out 60 days,” trainer John Sadler said Monday at Santa Anita. Sadler declined to offer specifics, but suggested the injury was not serious. It happened at an inopportune time. The $20 million Saudi Cup on Feb. 22 in Saudi Arabia was Full Serrano’s main winter objective.
“Bad timing, I really wanted to do Saudi,” Sadler said. The original plan to was to run Full Serrano in the $200,000 Pincay, a 1 1/16-mile race previously called the San Antonio Stakes, as a bridge toward the Saudi Cup. He will not make either race.
“The calendar is against us,” Sadler said.
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Full Serrano emerged from relative obscurity this fall to become one of the top older horses in California. Bred in Argentina, where he won 4 of 14 starts, Full Serrano was purchased by Hronis Racing and relocated to Sadler in California. His rise to prominence was swift.
“Three starts, he ran good in all of them,” Sadler said.
Full Serrano won his U.S. debut Aug. 3 in an entry-level allowance at Del Mar, followed by a runner-up finish in the Grade 1 Pacific Classic on Aug. 31. He subsequently got sick and missed a start in fall at Santa Anita.
Sadler trained Full Serrano into the BC Dirt Mile on Nov. 2 at Del Mar, which he won by 1 1/2 lengths with a 104 Beyer Speed Figure. A 5-year-old by Full Mast, Full Serrano was expected to be heavily favored in the Pincay Stakes. The good news is Sadler expects Full Serrano to make it back.
“He’ll be back for spring or summer,” the trainer said. “He’s a good horse. I think he’ll be tough in those [spring-summer handicap] races.”
Full Serrano will be turned out for 60 days before he resumes training at Santa Anita. Full Serrano has won six races and $797,223 from 17 starts; his U.S. earnings from three starts are $765,600.
With the defection of Full Serrano, top contenders in the $200,000 Pincay may include Skinner, Tarantino, and Mixto, the top three finishers in the Grade 3 Native Diver on Nov. 23 at Del Mar. Katonah, fifth in the BC Dirt Mile, also is nominated to the Pincay.
◗ Bentornato, runner-up in the BC Sprint, shipped last week from Florida and has been galloping regularly over the Santa Anita surface where he will meet Kentucky Derby winner Mystik Dan in the Malibu Stakes on opening day. Bentornato is scheduled for his only Santa Anita work later this week.
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