Barbaro’s latest setback threatens his survival

Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro suffered another significant setback over the weekend, and his fight for survival may have reached a critical point.

After Barbaro developed a deep abscess in his right hind foot, surgery was performed Saturday to insert two steel pins in a bone, one that was shattered but now sound, to eliminate all weight bearing on the ailing foot.

The procedure is a risky one, because it transfers more weight to the leg. If the bone were to break again, chief surgeon Dean Richardson said Sunday: “I think we’ll quit.

“When things start to go bad, it’s like a house of cards,” he told the Associated Press. “If one thing fails, that puts more stress on another part. And if that fails, then you’re stuck with managing two problems. That’s why these are difficult cases.”

The right rear leg was on the mend until recently. It’s the one Barbaro shattered at the start of the Preakness Stakes in May, and the three broken bones had completely healed.

The latest surgery, in which a cast was removed and replaced by an external brace known as a skeletal fixation device, addresses one problem but could create others.

Barbaro will probably have to bear more weight on his front feet because of his two ailing back legs, making him more susceptible to laminitis, a painful and often fatal disease caused by uneven weight distribution. Laminitis already struck Barbaro’s left rear foot in July, and 80% of the hoof was removed.

“It’s something that we are watching closely, and that could also be a thing that could lead to us quitting,” Richardson said.

The colt was doing well Sunday, Richardson said, and “we will continue to treat Barbaro aggressively as long as he remains bright, alert and eating.”

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GOLF

Goosen eagles last hole for one-stroke victory

South Africa’s Retief Goosen won the Qatar Masters, eagling the final hole for a three-under 69 and a one-stroke victory over Nick O’Hern in Doha.

Goosen finished with a 15-under 273 total for his 32nd international victory. O’Hern closed with a 70, and 2005 winner Ernie Els (67) was third at 13 under.

Argentina’s Miguel Carballo won the Nationwide Tour’s season-opening Panama Championship in Panana City, closing with a five-under 65 for a two-stroke victory over Jim McGovern, Hunter Haas and Patrick Sheehan.

Carballo, five strokes behind at the start of the round, finished with a six-under 274 total. He earned $99,000 and secured full status on the Nationwide Tour through the end of next season.

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WINTER SPORTS

Kildow conquers course in third victory of season

On the course where she crashed out at last year’s Olympics, Lindsey Kildow led at every split and won a World Cup super-G in 1 minute 30.06 seconds at San Sicario, Italy, in the final race before the world championships.

Renate Goetschl was second, 0.17 of a second behind, ending her two-race winning streak but extending her lead atop the overall World Cup standings.

Goetschl’s Austrian teammate Christine Sponring was third, 0.29 back, to match her finish in Friday’s super-G. Kildow’s teammate, Julia Mancuso, finished eighth. It was the third victory this season for Kildow.

Sweden’s Jens Byggmark, competing in his first full World Cup season, won his second slalom in two days, finishing in 1:44.20 in Kitzbuehel, Austria. Mario Matt (1:44.23) of Austria finished second for the second straight day. Manfred Moelgg (1:44.25) of Italy was third.

Bode Miller went out five gates from the finish in his second run. American teammate Ted Ligety, 27th after the first leg, had a blistering second run to finish seventh.

Jens Arne Svartedal of Norway won his second World Cup cross-country race of the season in Otepaa, Estonia, holding off Vassili Rotchev of Russia on the final sprint. Svartedal finished the 1.2-kilometer classical sprint final in 2:57.5. Rotchev was 0.5 of a second behind, and American Torin Koos took third, 0.9 behind. U.S. teammate Andrew Newell was fourth.

In the women’s race, Virpi Kuitunen of Finland won the 1K classical sprint in 2:43 to extend her overall lead. Astrid Jacobsen of Norway was second, and Evgeniya Shapovalova of Russia took third.

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MISCELLANY

NFL fines Bush $5,000 for taunting in Chicago

New Orleans Saints running back Reggie Bush was fined $5,000 by the NFL for taunting during his touchdown reception that covered 88 yards in an NFC championship game loss at Chicago last week. Although Bush was not penalized for pointing back at Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher or for somersaulting into the end zone, he received the league’s standard punishment for taunting.

If the Colorado Rockies and Boston Red Sox reach a deal that would send Todd Helton to Boston, the first baseman told the Denver Post that he probably wouldn’t veto the trade. Helton has a no-trade clause.

ESPN reported that the Rockies would send Helton to the Red Sox for third baseman Mike Lowell and reliever Julian Tavarez.

Russian Teimuraz Gabashvili beat former two-time champion Jan Michael Gambill, 7-6 (3), 6-4, in an elimination match at the Delray Beach tennis championships in Florida.

Once 14th in the world, Gambill has slipped to No. 687 and needed a wild card into the draw at the round-robin tournament he won in 2001 and 2003.