The Chosen Vron has been turned out for several months after an issue was found in his ankle after he was placed last month on the veterinarian’s list of ineligible horses. According to co-owner and trainer Eric Kruljac, his big chestnut gelding is expected to recover fully and return to the races next year.
“We’ll take it one step at a time,” Kruljac said. “We’ll give him the four months off and then bring him back. I feel pretty good that he’ll come back the same horse.”
COLLINS: The Chosen Vron Out of Breeders’ Cup Sprint
The Chosen Vron, owned by Kruljac, Sondereker Racing, Robert Fetkin, and Richard Thornburgh, is California’s reigning Horse of the Year and a fan favorite. The 6-year-old son of Vronsky has won 19 of his 25 starts, including win streaks of eight races and six races. Between September 2022 and September of this year, he had won 14 of his last 16 races. One of those losses was a fifth-place finish in the 2023 Breeders’ Cup Sprint (G1). The other came in his last race, a runner-up finish to Raging Torrent in the Aug. 24 Pat O’Brien Stakes (G2) at Del Mar.
But he ran well and his connections desired to try him again in the Breeders’ Cup.
Sign up for BloodHorse Daily
Then the veterinarians detected a slight gimp in his gait about 10 days before the big race, and they put him on the veterinarian’s list. A horse must stay on the list for 14 days and then pass a rigorous string of tests before being cleared. Tests at Santa Anita Park soon revealed the issue.
“He had a very minor problem, one he probably ran with—so minute you could barely pick it up on an MRI,” Kruljac said. “No surgery required, just four months off to let the body heal naturally and then he’ll be back.
“It’s a little blemish, not even as big as an eraser on a pencil. The races he ran in the Pat O’Brien and the Bing Crosby—he had that probably going on then.”
The Chosen Vron is turned out at Trifecta Farm in Bonsall, Calif.
“He deserves a little rest,” Kruljac said. “Three of the four partners live in close proximity (to Bonsall), so they can go out and visit him.
“The other guy, Bob Fetkin, lives in St. Pete Beach, Fla. He and his wife Sheila just lost their house in the hurricane. They were renting an apartment on the eighth floor of a high rise, and a crane on a building adjacent from his apartment broke off and crashed into his apartment. They took it in stride, and they’re safe.”
Kruljac has moved his residence down to Del Mar, so he will make a few trips out to Bonsall to see his star. He also hopes all goes well and The Chosen Vron will be back to defend his title in the Bing Crosby next summer.
This press release has been edited for content and style by BloodHorse Staff.
