USA: Tyler’s Tribe, such a disappointment at the Breeders’ Cup, bled again when beaten at odds-on at Oaklawn Park on Friday [Dec 9] and is set for a break.
The Iowa-bred sensation could finish only third as 4-5 favourite for the $150,000 Advent Stakes for two-year-olds on a muddy surface at the Arkansas venue.
After shooting to the front in typical fashion, Tyler’s Tribe weakened in the closing stages of the 5½-furlong race to finish 3½ lengths behind the winner Count De Monet.
“Bled a little bit yesterday,” said trainer Tim Martin, speaking to Oaklawn media. “He’s out for a little while, for sure.”
The colt is named after owner Tom Lepic’s grandson Tyler Juhl, who has documented his struggle against leukemia in his Facebook page, where followers are called ‘Tyler’s Tribe’.
The horse was one of the potential ‘feelgood’ stories of the Breeders’ Cup, to which he arrived unbeaten in five starts in Iowa, scoring by an aggregate 59¾ lengths under regular jockey Kylee Jordan.
Why Tyler’s Tribe is about so much more than the Breeders’ Cup
All of those races had been on dirt, with the addition of anti-bleeding medication Lasix, which is now banned at the Breeders’ Cup – and Tyler’s Tribe was vanned off the track at Keeneland when he bled heavily in the $1m Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint.
However, he was back on dirt – and Lasix – at Oaklawn. “It wasn’t nothing like the Breeders’ Cup,” Martin added. “He was looking pretty good and whenever he stopped, I was like, ‘Uh oh,’ something happened.’ When she pulled him up, he had blood in his nose.
“I wanted to take advantage of the Lasix, but that didn’t work.”
According to Martin, Tyler’s Tribe will now spend a month at nearby Royal Training Center before returning for a three-year-old campaign.
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