Mister Frisky Due in Southland in 2 Weeks

Mister Frisky, near death about a month ago because of complications resulting from a large abscess in his throat, will be returning to his California stable in two weeks and is expected to resume racing by the end of the year.

The Santa Anita Derby winner, who ran a dismal eighth as the favorite in the Kentucky Derby on May 5 and finished a well-beaten third in the Preakness two weeks later, became ill while at Belmont Park, preparing for the Belmont Stakes on June 9.

Instead of running in the Belmont, Mister Frisky wound up in an equine clinic at Clarksburg, N.J., where veterinarians treated a grapefruit-sized abscess that impaired the 3-year-old colt’s breathing and prevented him from eating and drinking.

Mister Frisky will be released from the clinic Sunday and, after spending two weeks at a farm on Long Island in New York, will be sent back to California, where he will rejoin trainer Laz Barrera at Hollywood Park.

Barrera said Friday that it is possible that Mister Frisky might run in the Hollywood Derby, a grass race, at Hollywood Park in December. If Mister Frisky doesn’t make that race, Barrera will aim for the Strub Series on dirt at Santa Anita, which usually starts with the Malibu Stakes on Dec. 26.

“The horse’s temperature is back to normal, and he’s gained back about 50 of the 75 pounds he lost through all this,” Barrera said.

“He’s been examined by two specialists from the University of Pennsylvania, and they say he’s perfect, that there’s no permanent damage. He has also completely recovered from the paralysis he suffered in the cranial area.”

Mister Frisky was undefeated in 16 races going into the Kentucky Derby, the longest streak a horse had ever carried into the Churchill Downs race. Mister Frisky raced close to the lead for three-quarters of a mile before fading.

In the Preakness, Mister Frisky was also close early before dropping back.

The colt scored his first 13 victories in Puerto Rico, where his illness might have begun early this year.

“The veterinarians think that he might have eaten a (wood) shaving from his stall while he was in quarantine, waiting to come to California,” Barrera said. “The shaving may have stuck behind his Adam’s apple, and that’s what started all his problems.”