Drumalis, the horse who was on the brink of death following the Aug. 25 Budweiser-Arlington Million, is alive and well and winning stakes races in California in record time.
Trainer Darrell Vienna credits the remarkable comeback to his 6-year-old horse`s great courage and the expertise of Drs. Joseph Foerner and Thomas Phillips at the Illinois Equine Clinic.
Drumalis was in agony because of a badly twisted cecum, a pouch that connects a horse`s small intestine to his large intestine, after finishing 11th in the 13-horse field for Million V. Immediately, he was taken to the clinic in Naperville where the veterinarians diagnosed his condition and performed lifesaving surgery.
They removed two-thirds of his cecum. The operation was a success but Drumalis remained in critical condition. It seemed a foregone conclusion that the winner of last July`s Grade II Stars and Stripes at Arlington would never race again–and might not even pull through.
But when he passed the critical point, Dr. Foerner told Vienna that putting the horse back into training could possibly speed the healing process. Vienna was skeptical. Nevertheless, he followed the doctor`s advice and
”within 30-35 days” of the surgery, Drumalis was back in training.
He made his first start after the operation Dec. 8, finishing second in Hollywood Park`s Bates Motel Stakes.
Vienna then took Drumalis to northern California for the $300,000 Bay Meadows Handicap, the last major grass race of the year in the U.S.
Drumalis powered to a 1 1/2-length victory, racing the 1 1/8 miles in 1:47, a full second faster than the Bay Meadows course record set by The Bart in 1981.
It was the eighth victory in 22 lifetime starts for the Irish-bred who raced in England, France, Italy and West Germany before relocating in California in 1984. Vienna and owner Bill Gumpert don`t think it will be his last. They plan to continue racing him this year.
— Arlington Park`s public relations director Lanny Ross, one of the key people behind the scenes in the postfire ”Miracle Million,” is taking a new job. Ross is joining the staff of Sports Marketing and Television International, a Greenwich, Conn., firm that handles publicity for the Breeders` Cup series and other premier sports events.
— Million winner Teleprompter of England wound up the year tied for fourth with Palace Music in the 1985 European ratings for horses competing from 6 1/2 furlongs to 1 3/8 miles. Pebbles, the English filly who came to New York in November and dramatically won the $2 million Breeders` Cup turf race, was ranked No. 1. Commanche Run and Rousillon finished second and third, respectively.
Geldings were regarded as second-class citizens in European racing and were banned from Group I competition before Teleprompter`s triumph at Arlington.
Now, the European Pattern Committee, which comprises representatives from England, Ireland, France, West Germany and Italy, has decided that races for 3-year-olds and up and 4-year-olds and up will be opened to geldings starting this year.
However, geldings still are excluded from Group I races for 2- and 3-year-olds. The rationale behind the ban is that geldings devalue the standard of classic races for the other horses because they cannot reproduce.
— In addition to the Million, Budweiser sponsors the Gold Cup at Hawthorne and the Sprint championship at Balmoral, the richest races at these Chicago tracks, plus many other races throughout the U.S.
Now, the brewery is using racing as a vehicle to try to tap the European market. The race hitherto known as the Irish Sweeps Derby, which has been sponsored by the Irish Hospital Sweepstakes for the last 24 years, will become the Budweiser Irish Derby under a new three-year arrangement. The purse has been increased from approximately $257,607 to $549,450, making it the most lucrative race in Europe.
— Undefeated Ogygian is the first casualty on the road to the 1986 Kentucky Derby.
The son of Damascus, who won all three of his races in New York last year, including the Grade I Belmont Futurity by nine lengths, will be sidelined until July following surgery to remove a bone chip in his right hind leg.
Ogygian suffered the injury in a freak barn accident late last month at Tartan Farm in Florida, where he was preparing for the major Kentucky Derby preps at Gulfstream and Hialeah.
— Strong Performance thrust himself into the Kentucky Derby picture with a strong performance in winning Saturday`s $200,000 Grade II Tropical Park Derby. The 1 1/8-mile race at Calder is the year`s first major Derby prep.
