Kizuna settled for fourth spot with Yutaka Take in the saddle in the domestic Grade-1 race in Kyoto.
TOKYO (AFP) – Last year s Japanese Derby winner Kizuna will skip the Prix de l Arc de Triomphe in October after breaking his left foreleg, his trainer said Wednesday.
The four-year-old colt, which finished fourth in the prestigious French race at Longchamp last year, was believed to have suffered the injury in the two-mile Tenno-sho (Emperor s Prize) on Sunday, trainer Shozo Sasaki told Japanese media.
“The extent of the injury is neither too serious nor too light. It may take about six months for him to recover fully,” the trainer said.
Kizuna settled for fourth spot with Yutaka Take in the saddle in the domestic Grade-1 race in Kyoto, despite being the odds-on favourite.
The Japan Racing Association said the third carpal bone in Kizuna s left foreleg was found to be broken and that the horse was due to undergo surgery on Friday.
“It is unfortunate because we had thought he would have a chance at the Prix de l Arc de Triomphe,” Sasaki said. “We will work hard all over again for next year s Arc.”
He added that if all goes well, Kizuna may be ready for the year-end domestic Group-1 classic, the 2,500-metre Arima Kinen, at Nakayama racecourse outside Tokyo on December 28.
