Wise Dan slips past Shared Belief in rankings

By: SPORTS NETWORK

New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - One day after it was announced Wise Dan was injured and won't be able to run in the Breeders' Cup, he was sitting atop the NTRA Thoroughbred Poll.

The two-time defending Horse of the Year edged past Shared Belief in the rankings to reclaim first place by eight points over the 3-year-old.

Wise Dan, owned by Morton Fink, received 24 top votes and 379 points to Shared Belief's 15 first-place votes and 371 points. Fink announced Monday that his champion has an injury and will be unable to defend his consecutive victories in the Breeders' Cup Mile on Nov. 1.

"He was scheduled to breeze in a few days and Charlie (trainer Charles LoPresti) checked him over to be sure he was 100 percent," Fink said in a statement. "Unfortunately, Charlie noticed some swelling in his ankle and quickly decided to X-ray him to be sure everything was alright. The X-rays identified a non-displaced "half-moon shaped" fracture of the bottom of the cannon bone in the RF (right front) fetlock. This likely occurred in his victory in the Shadwell (Turf) Mile.

"As a result, we have decided to withdraw him from the Breeders' Cup to allow the fracture to heal ... Dr. (Larry) Bramlage recommends that we wait at least 30 days and assess his progress before we make any further decisions. He is seven years old, with 30 starts in his career so we'll let him show us what to do next."

The remainder of the poll is unchanged from last week with Tonalist (273) third followed by California Chrome (1, 247), Main Sequence (190), Bayern (174), Untapable (152), Close Hatches (121), Beholder (108) and Palace Malice (47).

The National Poll continues through the Breeders' Cup.