Wise Dan hopes to be flying to a fast recovery
Don’t be fooled by the headline and start looking at the results page from the East coast tracks to see what race Wise Dan just won. This Charlie LoPresti trained champion’s latest victory did not come on the track. This time, the Thoroughbred warrior was in a different type of battle.
Late last week, two-time defending horse of the year Wise Dan was rushed to the hospital with a potentially life threatening intestinal issue. Fearing the worst, all of his fans and connections were stricken with a pain in the gut, same as this immaculate Thoroughbred. Upon his arrival at the Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky, the 7-year old gelding had emergency surgery and it was discovered the “flipped” small intestine had corrected itself and the procedure was simply exploratory.
“A big thanks goes out to the folks at Rood and Riddle,” says a relieved LoPresti. “He looks great and is starting to look more like the Wise Dan we know. I know a lot of prayers were said and we thank God for blessing him and us.”
Of course Wise Dan is not ready for the starting gates just yet. Bad things could always happen following a surgical procedure, but it looks as if this titan of the turf will add to his very impressive record of 21 wins in 29 lifetime starts before the summer is over.
“We hope to get a saddle on him in 4 weeks and maybe jogging in 5 weeks,” says LoPresti. “We think running at the Saratoga meet is a reasonable goal, but right now we are taking things one day at a time.”
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