PHILADELPHIA -- Rockport Harbor, a former top contender for
the Kentucky Derby, is off the Triple Crown trail.
Owner Rick Porter decided not to run the injury-plagued
3-year-old colt in any Triple Crown races after a poor showing in
the Lexington Stakes on Saturday, the final prep race for the
Derby.
Rockport Harbor trainer John Servis and jockey Stewart Elliott,
who helped lead Smarty Jones to wins in the Derby and Preakness
Stakes last year, will now point the colt toward stakes races in
the summer.
Rockport Harbor was sixth in a seven-horse field at the
Lexington Stakes at Keeneland on Saturday, a finish that prompted
Porter to make a tough decision.
"We could probably get him ready for the Preakness and the
Belmont, but in our judgment, giving him a break and pointing to
some good summer stakes is the better option for him," Porter said
Sunday in a posting on Rockport Harbor's Web site.
Unbeaten in four starts as a 2-year-old, Rockport Harbor has
struggled with health problems, including a gash in his right rear
leg and a blood clot in his neck.
In his only other race this year, Rockport Harbor finished
second by a half-length to Greater Good in the Rebel Stakes at
Oaklawn Park.
"He has missed a lot of training and gotten off his schedule
for the Triple Crown," Porter said. "He will ship back to
Philadelphia Park ... and resume training.
"When John (Servis) feels he is settled enough and training
great, we will look for a race. Some early thoughts are to
eventually point for the Haskell or Travers."