Ron Correll
Senior columnist
Tracksdieview.com

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – I Want Revenge, the morning-line favorite (3-1) in the Kentucky Derby was scratched Saturday morning after heat and filling was found in his left front ankle.

Trainer Jeff Mullins explained what happened early Saturday. “I got to the barn and we took off his wraps and washed his legs. We found heat and filling in his left front ankle. We jogged him in front of the barn and he didn’t appear to be lame. We flexed his ankle he reacted. You could tell he wasn’t a 100 percent.

“By this time Dr. Foster Northrop had arrived and he flexed the ankle and jogged the horse … I’ll let him tell you what he found,” Mullins said.

“He jogged and I flexed the ankle and I could tell he was sore. I jogged him again and he was lame in about every fifth step. You had to look to see it,” Northrop said.

“We X-rayed and it was clear. We did an ultra sound and it also was clean. The bone is pristine. He will undergo further tests. I commend the owners for doing the right thing,” Northrop said.

Co-owner David Lanzman said there wasn’t anything he could do about it. “It’s the cards I was dealt. When the vets told me what was wrong I said, ‘There’s no debate about it … we’ll fight another day’,” Lanzman.

The 3-year-old son of Stephen Got Even has three wins from eight lifetime starts and was coming into the Derby off an overpowering win in the Wood Memorial on April 4 at Aqueduct Racetrack in New York.