Trainer Tony Alagna has announced that he has scratched Ramona Hill from the Breeders Crown eliminations which will be taking place this weekend at Harrah's Hoosier Park.
Alagna told harnessracing.com on Wednesday afternoon that he scratched Ramona Hill from Friday night's elims after the 2020 Hambletonian champion came up sick.
In addition, the world champion two-year-old trotting colt Southwind Tyrion was not entered in the Breeders Crown because he came down with a slight cold when he was shipped from Lexington to New Jersey.
Ramona Hill finished second in her Bluegrass division on October 4. In the Kentucky Filly Futurity on October 11 she then made a break going down the backstretch at the half. Alagna said while he kept his other Breeders Crown starters at the Red Mile, he sent Ramona Hill back to New Jersey.
Ramona Hill, pictured in victory.
“The muddy day on Futurity Day really had her back all kinked up, so I took her home and she picked up some kind of strep there,” said Alagna. “She has a terrible guttural infection and we’ve been working with it. I thought we had it under control with treatments and the hyperbaric chamber. She was supposed to ship last night but she popped a fever, so we made the decision to scratch her.
“I took 'Ramona' home and I still stand behind what I did. She needed to go back to get her back worked on and get reshod for Hoosier, but it was unfortunate that she caught something when she went back there.”
Owned by Brad Grant, Crawford Farms Racing, Robert Leblanc and In The Gym Partners, Ramona Hill has won six of nine starts this year, bringing her career earnings to $1,321,015. She had drawn Post 6 in the second of two 'Crown' elims on Friday. Alagna said he will now point Ramona Hill to the Matron on November 12 at Dover Downs.
‘We have to do the right thing by any horse we’ve got, and we’re definitely going to do it by her,” said Alagna. “We aren’t going to put her on a track if she wasn’t 100 per cent. So we’ll get her ready for the Matron and go from there. Hopefully she’ll finish up the year on a good note and come back at four.”
Southwind Tyrion, pictured in victory.
Southwind Tyrion set a 1:51.1 world record at the Red Mile.
"We couldn't enter him, but he should be fine," said Sarah Svanstedt, who trains Southwind Tyrion with her husband, Ake. "Sometimes it's just too much with the shipping and the weather changing, especially with two-year-olds. We plan to race him in the Valley Victory."
(Harnessracing.com)