Paul Saylor knew he would be at the Keeneland November breeding stock sale on Monday. He had no idea, however, that he would be there without a multiple Grade 1-winning mare to sell.
"I don't really know what I'm doing here, to be honest," he quipped. "I think it's because I'm trying to put off the drive back to Atlanta."
Fleet Indian, a five-year-old Indian Charlie mare out of the Afleet mare Hustleeta, had been cataloged as Hip 85 and expected to bring a hefty price after entering the Emirates Airline Breeders' Cup Distaff (G1) on Saturday riding an eight-race unbeaten streak dating back to last November.
But Saylor, who was part of a group that sold two-time champion Ashado for a record $9-million during last year's Keeneland November sale, was forced to watch helplessly as Fleet Indian, who he bought in January as a broodmare prospect, was pulled up in the turn by jockey Jose Santos with an injury to her left front leg.
Veterinarians initially thought she had suffered a fracture but it later was determined that she had injured both suspensory branches of her left front fetlock. While serious, the injury is treatable, and it will not limit her potential as a future broodmare.
"We were so lucky that it basically was nothing more than a soft tissue injury," Saylor said. "We're not sure exactly what the future holds for her yet. She's relatively comfortable right now and she's not in any danger. That's what's important."
Saylor said Fleet Indian would be shipped to a Kentucky farm sometime this week to continue her recovery. Depending upon how she responds, she could be entered in the Keeneland January mixed sale, next year's Keeneland November sale, or sold privately.
"Her recovery will determine any future plans," he said. "We want what's best for her, obviously."
Saylor said he is still frustrated that it took on-track emergency officials at Churchill Downs so long to get to Fleet Indian following the injury.
"Had it been a fracture she'd be dead now because it took forever to get her any help," said Saylor, who sprinted down the rail from the chute to the turn after the field hit the line to find out what had happened to his mare. "The fact that they had only one ambulance at the track was a big, big problem."
In a post-race news conference, Wayne McIlwraith, D.V.M., an American Association of Equine Practitioners on-call veterinarian, said there were two ambulances at the track but both were delayed following the fatal breakdown of Grade 1 winner Pine Island on the backstretch.
Saylor said Fleet Indian provided him and his family plenty of excitement during her impressive 2006 campaign in which she won her six starts by a combined 31 ¼ lengths and earned $1,473,720.
"It was a heck of a ride," he said. "Years like this usually are something you only dream about."—Steve Bailey
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