July 11 - This week the American horseracing industry received a bombshell when Zayat Stables issued a statement announcing that Pioneerof The Nile, the winner of this year's Santa Anita Derby (Gr 1) and three other stakes, has been retired as a result of a soft tissue injury to his left front leg.

When asked about the unexpected development, Pioneerof The Nile's trainer, Bob Baffert, admitted that he was 'still in shock'. The respected trainer noticed that there was something wrong with the 3-year-old colt during a routine training session earlier this week at Santa Anita Park in California.

'We noticed a little filling in his leg, but were hoping he just rapped it,' he said. Unfortunately Pioneerof The Nile's injury was far more serious, and his connections had no choice but to retire him. Baffert was planning to enter the colt in the $300,000 Swaps Stakes (Gr 2) on July 18 at Hollywood Park.

'I was getting so excited about that horse and I loved the way he had been training,' said Baffert. 'Pioneerof the Nile was getting stronger with age and was just starting to mature. He gave us a lot of thrills, like going to the Kentucky Derby and running second, and winning the Santa Anita Derby.'

Although the Pioneerof the Nile was only transferred to the stables of Baffert last fall, the trainer forged a strong bond with the colt. From December to April, Pioneerof won the CashCall Futurity (Gr 1), the Robert Lewis Stakes (Gr 2), the San Felipe Stakes (Gr 2) and the Santa Anita Derby.

During this year's Kentucky Derby, just when it looked like Pioneerof the Nile had the race sewn up, Mine That Bird, ridden by Calvin Borel, came flying down the straight to pass the colt and beat him across the line by a whopping 6 3/4 lengths. In the Preakness Stakes, his final start, he failed to impress.

In his career, the 3-year-old won 5 out of 10 races and earned a cool $1,634,200 in purses. As yet Zayat Stables have not made known where Pioneerof The Nile will stand at stud. 'It's a shame, as Bob was 100 percent convinced Pioneer was going to win the Breeders' Cup Classic,' said Ahmed Zayat.

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2011/12/09 12:49:09 AM