Secret Crush was re-checked again yesterday morning and while he remains sound, Dr. Stephens still has some concerns based on the ultrasound images about how his suspensory will hold up if we put more pressure on him with intensified training at this moment. We have decided to give him three more weeks of galloping and then we will have to make a decision on whether we proceed forward and see how he reacts to each work, or the alternative would be stopping completely. From the time we got the initial diagnosis on Secret Crush back in April of 2024, we knew it would be an uphill battle. The good news is that physically, he is not showing any signs of the training being too much for him, but in today’s world, this is why we use diagnostics so heavily to try to prevent doing to much too quickly.

Secret Crush (inside horse) had his first quarter mile breeze on Sunday at Wavertree alongside MRH stablemate Seize the Grey. The breeze went well for the duo, however, Secret Crush did display some inflammation in his left front ankle yesterday morning. Farm trainer Ciaran Dunne ordered an ultrasound where some disruption of the fibers of the suspensory branches were discovered. Our resident vet, Dr. Jeffrey Berk, reviewed the diagnostics today and confirmed some minor tears in the medial suspensory branch. Dr. Berk expects a full recovery after some time out of training. At this point, Secret Crush will receive about 60 days off (stall rest and limited small paddock turnout). We’ll follow up with progress updates every few weeks.

You can read more about suspensory ligaments here.