Breeders' Cup winner Battle Of Midway suffers fatal injury in training

Battle Of Midway, winner of the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile in 2017, has sadly died following a training accident.

The five-year-old broke down during a session on Saturday at Santa Anita, according to Fernando Diaz-Valdes, racing manager for co-owner Don Alberto Stable.

Diaz-Valdes said the horse's connections (Don Alberto, co-owner WinStar Farm, and trainer Jerry Hollendorfer) discussed all options to try to save the son of Smart Strike, but the injuries were too severe and he was euthanized.

"Terrible. Terrible game. He broke down. He shattered his pastern in his hind leg," Diaz-Valdes said before the decision was made to euthanize Battle Of Midway.

"We want to do anything possible to save the horse, but the vets say there's no way. There's too many pieces. We are trying. We want to do anything to save the horse because he gave us so much.

"There's no words. For us, it's the loss of a child."

Battle Of Midway was retired from racing after his Dirt Mile victory at Del Mar to pursue a stud career, but he was discovered to be subfertile. Of 61 mares bred, only a handful were found to be in foal.

Returned to training in May 2018, it took Battle Of Midway a couple of starts to get going. He won the Grade 3 Native Diver Stakes at Del Mar, the highlight of his four-year-old campaign.

His connections had been considering a run in the Dubai World Cup on March 30.

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