Night Combat worked a half mile earlier in the week for trainer Chad Brown in Saratoga. The breeze yielded a slow time — 51.70 seconds — and the barn said the 2-year-old filly lacked a willingness to engage in the work.
Chad had his stable veterinarian complete diagnostics on the filly to rule out any physical issues. We sent the results of those radiographs to our resident vet, Dr. Jeffrey Berk, who provided us with a report based on his findings. The left fetlock (ankle), where she had chips removed in the summer, is exhibiting joint inflammation and is displaying the very beginnings of degenerative joint disease. A bone spur has also developed on top of the P1 bone and there is sharpening of the sesamoids proximally.
Dr. Berk explained that even when diagnostics and treatments (in this case surgical removal of the chips and the necessary time off post-surgery) are done in an “excellent and timely manner,” some horses do not respond positively once they are back in serious training. Unfortunately, this is the case with Night Combat. He said it is very unlikely that the progression of the degenerative joint disease would be able to be therapeutically managed nor would time off be the solution because putting her back in training would only bring her to this point again.
Unfortunately, because of this diagnosis, Dr. Berk doesn’t believe the filly will be able to withstand the rigors of training and racing and he has recommended that she be retired. Based on his recommendation, our team and our partners, Saratoga Seven, have sent Night Combat to Silver Springs Farm in Lexington, Ky. where will be placed on paddock turnout.
The current plan is to enter Night Combat in Keeneland’s January sale as a broodmare prospect. Of course, our team is disappointed by this turn of events and know you are too, but we believe beyond a doubt that this is the right direction to take with the filly.
