Soul Of The Matter Out of Gold Cup

The $1-million Hollywood Gold Cup took another hit Tuesday morning.

A couple of weeks after it was announced Cigar wouldn’t defend his title in Hollywood Park’s most important race, Soul Of The Matter, who would have been the starting high weight at 123 pounds, was declared out of Sunday’s Grade I event.

Plagued by foot problems throughout a career in which he has raced only 16 times, the 5-year-old Private Terms horse was discovered to have a bruise in his right front foot.

Trainer Richard Mandella said Soul Of The Matter, who gave Cigar a serious scare in the $4-million Dubai World Cup in March in his last start, looked a “little bit sore” while he was being walked Tuesday morning before what was going to be his last scheduled workout before the Gold Cup.

The bruise will be treated, according to Mandella, who is hopeful that Soul Of The Matter, who has won seven times and earned more than $2.3 million for owner Burt Bacharach, can run in the Bel Air Handicap on July 14. If not, the plan is to have him ready for the $1-million Pacific Classic on Aug. 10 at Del Mar.