Updates

Brave Monarch is scheduled to breeze on either Friday or Saturday morning at Belmont Park. He’s been galloping very strongly for the past week, and his splint remains cold

The Defense Rests continues jogging daily and will resume galloping early next month. Kip tries to mix things up each day by rotating his horses through trots through the woods, on the turf course, and on the dirt track.

Dr. Baker confirmed that there is a small chip in Phosphorescent's right front ankle. Dr. Baker thinks the best course of action is to surgically remove the chip. We would need to rest him for a period of time even if we did not take the chip out, and removal helps prevent further damage down the road.

Accordingly, Phosphorescent will ship to Woodford Equine Hospital in Versailles, Kentucky within the next few days and have the procedure shortly after arrival. He will recover at Dr. Baker's Fairlawn Farm, which is located right near the clinic.

The prognosis is very favorable that our colt will make a full recovery. Dr. Baker estimates that he will be need about 60 days out of training. This could not have happened at a better time, as most turf campaigners take a breather at this time of year anyway. We've always thought this horse would be a stellar four-year-old, so we will give him plenty of time to recharge his batteries before gearing up for late spring and summer turf campaign.

Early in 2011, we will send Phosphorescent to Kip Elser's farm in Camden, South Carolina to begin the legging up process before shipping back to Lupe. We have found that it is beneficial for horses recovering from an injury to go back into training in a milder climate. It is tough for a horse who has been laid up to start an exercise regime back up in the dead of winter up north. Once he gets back galloping, we will send him back to Lupe and get him geared up for a summer turf campaign. We expect to make a lot of noise on the turf circuit next year. Many of the best grass horses flourish as four, five, and six-year-olds.

Terry has known Kip for over 15 years, and he is an excellent horseman who runs a top class facility. We are excited to team with Elser and have him work with our horses before they return to their respective trainers. Click here to read a Thoroughbred Times article about Kirkwood. Click here to visit the farm's homepage

Further Update
Phosphorescent is en route to Kentucky right now on a Brook Ledge van. He will spend the night at a layover facility before completing his journey in the morning. His scheduled arrival time in Kentucky 9am.

Mr. Fantasy continues on stall rest each day at Dr. Baker’s farm. Both front ankles were injected with hylaronic acid this week to stimulate the production of healthy joint fluid. He will begin PRP therapy in 2-3 weeks. After taking a sample of the his blood, in minutes a high-speed centrifuge separates blood plasma rich in platelets from the red blood cells. This PRP with its associated growth factors is then immediately injected into the soft tissue of the ankle creating what some call a "super-clot" that serves to help create a biologic scaffold upon which the body's own cells migrate and produce new collagen fibrils along lines of tension in the structure being treated. PRP is a fast, stall-side treatment that uses the horse's own cells and molecules to stimulate more rapid and stronger healing in a variety of structures.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e38OrwvDBs8&feature=player_embedded