Former Breeders’ Cup winner Pluck has surgery

LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) — Defending Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf winner Pluck has undergone surgery to fix a twisted colon that was discovered hours before his scheduled return to racing.

Pluck had the surgery on Thursday night in Lexington, where he was taken after showing signs of colic a few hours before he was supposed to run in the Commonwealth Turf Stakes at Churchill Downs in Louisville.

Doctors untwisted the colt’s colon and he was resting Friday, according to Barry Irwin, president of Team Valor International, which co-owns Pluck.

Irwin says Pluck had a very painful experience, but will be OK. He will be sent to a farm in Florida and Irwin says a decision on whether Pluck will race again will be made later.

Pluck had been away from the races since April, when a nuclear scan revealed bruising on both of his hind cannon bones. Irwin says he had trained well under Graham Motion leading up to his scheduled return.

A year ago, Pluck rallied from last to win the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Churchill. He has three wins in seven career starts and earnings of $727,290.