Toronto, ON – Van Lear Rose, Canada’s champion two-year-old filly in 2008, will be sidelined for the year due to a suspensory injury.
Trained by Catherine Day Phillips and bred and owned by her brother, Richard Day (Kingview Farms), the three-year-old daughter of Stroll suffered the injury while breezing at Gulfstream Park (in Florida) two weeks ago.
“Thankfully it wasn’t a catastrophic injury,” said Day Phillips, of the lifetime winner of two races from six starts and earner of $302,160. “We want to make sure we give her the time she needs to heal.
“After a breeze at Gulfstream, we discovered she had some pressure in her leg. The key is to ensure that she recovers fully.”
Van Lear Rose launched her career on June 21, finishing fourth at Woodbine in a five furlong Polytrack race. After a third (placed second) in the Shady Well Stakes in July and a second in a seven furlong main track race, the dark bay broke her maiden in style, taking the Muskoka Stakes on September 1.
The Ontario-bred followed up that score with another return to the winner’s circle, a half-length triumph in the Grade 3 Mazarine Stakes on October 5. Van Lear Rose, under regular rider Chantal Sutherland, closed out her campaign with a sixth-place finish, just 5 ¾-lengths behind highly regarded Stardom Bound in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Filly event on October 24 at Santa Anita.
In spite of the bad news for her young star, Day Phillips is hoping some of her other horses have a strong 2009 Woodbine campaign, one which gets underway on Saturday, April 4.
“We have quite a few younger horses that had promising two-year-old seasons and hopefully, they continue to improve.”
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