ARCADIA, Calif. - Geaux Rocket Ride, one of the leading contenders for the $6 million Breeders' Cup Classic here on Nov. 4, suffered a displaced condylar fracture to his right foreleg during a workout Saturday morning at Santa Anita. Trainer Richard Mandella said the fracture broke through the skin and while there is no sesamoid fracture, the ligaments around it are stretched, making for a potentially difficult surgery to save the colt. Surgery is planned for Sunday at a clinic on the track property, Mandella said. “It’s going to be a delicate situation, it’s going to be lucky to make it, but we’re going to do everything we can,” Mandella added. “If it starts to become a detriment, we won’t do it.” Mandella added the threat of infection “is going to make it an uphill battle.” The injury occurred around the eighth pole of a seven-furlong workout shortly after 9 a.m. local time, following the third and final renovation break. The work had been postponed from Friday after it was determined that Geaux Rocket Ride had “tender feet,” according to Mandella, from receiving new shoes on Thursday. On Saturday, before the workout, Mandella said Geaux Rocket Ride jogged several times outside his barn in front of multiple veterinarians who approved him to work. In response to an inquiry from Daily Racing Form about approving Geaux Rocket Ride to work on Saturday morning after the work was postponed Friday, the Breeders’ Cup, in a statement, said Geaux Rocket Ride was examined extensively by a team of veterinarians from the Breeders’ Cup, 1/ST Racing, and the California Horse Racing Board. “No visible signs of lameness, injury or other ailments were identified during the physical examination or during a jog exam, and Geaux Rocket Ride was approved to work,” the statement read. Smith jogged Geaux Rocket Ride one mile on the training track before the main track opened for workouts. “The foot thing is something we’ve dealt with all along,” Mandella said. “We jogged him four times, veterinarians, everybody looked at him. I had Mike jog him on the training track, called him, ‘how does he feel,? Oh, boss, great,’ ” Mandella said. Smith, in a separate interview with Daily Racing Form, said “I wouldn’t have worked him if I felt something” warming up. Geaux Rocket Ride was the first horse to work, leaving the seven-eighths pole and appeared to be working well enough turning into the lane. “Seven-eighths is a long work, so I was giving him a good breather around the turn and he backed up nice and I was just getting ready to call on him heading for home, then that happened,” Smith said. Smith added that he heard “a tiny pop. As soon as I did, I stopped him as fast as I could.” Mandella praised Smith for getting Geaux Rocket Ride pulled so quickly for saving his life. “That’s the difference that he’s here,” Mandella said outside his barn. Geaux Rocket Ride, a 3-year-old son of Candy Ride owned by Pin Oak Stud, won three of five starts including the Affirmed Stakes at Santa Anita in June and the Grade 1 Haskell at Monmouth Park in July. Most recently, he finished second, beaten a head by Arabian Knight, in the Grade 1 Pacific Classic at Del Mar on Sept. 2. Geaux Rocket Ride is the second high-profile Breeders’ Cup contender to suffer a significant injury in 15 days working at Santa Anita. Echo Zulu, one of the top female sprinters in training, suffered a sesamoid fracture of her left foreleg during a workout here on Oct. 13. She underwent surgery and, as of earlier in the week, was recuperating well. Horses are undergoing stringent examinations almost daily by a team of veterinarians from the Breeders’ Cup, coordinated with regulatory and track veterinarians. “This expanded veterinary review protocol is designated to ensure, to the extent possible, every horse made the trip to Santa Anita Park for the World Championships was sound to race and train,” the Breeders’ Cup said in a press release. “We have faith in these processes, which include expanded veterinary exam protocols, increased testing, 24-hour equine surveillance starting Sunday, Oct. 29 for international runners and Tuesday, Oct. 31 for domestic runners, and enhanced reporting requirements.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.