Desormeaux Will Be Sidelined Six Weeks Because of Injury

Jockey Kent Desormeaux will be sidelined for at least six weeks because of the broken right wrist he suffered in a last-race spill at Santa Anita Sunday.

Desormeaux, 21, will be fitted with a cast in a few days.

Desormeaux’s agent, Gene Short, said that the wrist was broken in three places. The spill occurred near the quarter pole when a horse ridden by apprentice Omar Berrio broke down. Desormeaux’s horse, Attesa, tripped and also went down. Berrio suffered back injuries and his horse, Number One Tuto, was destroyed.

The injury will cost Desormeaux a chance to ride Apollo, a Kentucky Derby candidate, in the Jim Beam Stakes at Turfway Park March 30. The only other jockey to ride Apollo has been Chris McCarron, who substituted when Desormeaux was serving a suspension in December. McCarron already is the jockey for several other top 3-year-olds, including Dinard.

Desormeaux, who broke McCarron’s record for victories in a year when he won 598 races while based in Maryland in 1989, is having an unusual year in California. He has finished in the money more than 42% of the time at Santa Anita, a good percentage, but his winning percentage has been only about 10%.

Desormeaux, with 33 victories, is tied with Jose Santos for seventh place in the standings. In the national standings, which are based on purses won, Desormeaux ranks sixth with $1.3 million.