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Casino Drive out of Belmont Grade 2 winner CASINO DRIVE (Mineshaft), the morning-line second choice in the 140th running of the Belmont S. (G1), was scratched from the race Saturday morning when a stone bruise on his left-hind hoof was re-aggravated. "This morning, he was feeling well, so we took him to the track for a canter," said Nobutaka Tada, spokesperson for owner Hidetoshi Yamamoto and trainer Kazuo Fujisawa. "He came back well to the stable, but later he started favoring his left-hind again. "It's not serious, just a small stone bruise, and he will be fine. But the timing is terrible." On Thursday, Casino Drive galloped on the muddy/sealed main track under two-time Belmont winning jockey Edgar Prado and clearly didn't like the going, constantly switching leads to get comfortable. He did not go to the track on Friday, and when the first signs of a problem appeared, his hoof was tubbed in ice water and Epsom salt. Casino Drive was purchased for $950,000 at the 2006 Keeneland September Yearling Sale. A knee injury kept him from racing until February of this year, when he won at first asking at Kyoto, Japan. He was then sent to New York specifically to run in the Belmont and proved his mettle with an impressive 5 3/4-length win in the Peter Pan S. (G2) on May 10. The chestnut's main purpose, however, was the Belmont, which his half-brother Jazil (Seeking the Gold) won in 2006 and his three-quarter sister, Rags to Riches (A.P. Indy), won last year. All three are out of the same dam, the Deputy Minister mare Better Than Honour. "We have had so many people cheering for us, helping us, supporting us for coming here to run in the Belmont Stakes," Tada said. "It is unfortunate that those people will not be able to see him run. It is a real pity." Casino Drive was one of two undefeated horses entered for the Belmont Stakes. The other, Kentucky Derby (G1) and Preakness S. (G1) winner Big Brown (Boundary), is seeking to become racing's 12th Triple Crown winner. He is undefeated from five career starts, and only Seattle Slew in 1977 ever won the Triple Crown while undefeated.
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