Ethereal Road to Miss Belmont Due to Quarter Crack

For the second time Ethereal Road has been pulled from consideration from a Triple Crown race, only this time the big race was five days away. After being scratched from the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) a day before the first leg of the Triple Crown, trainer D. Wayne Lukas announced June 6 that the son of Quality Road will not run in the June 11 Belmont Stakes Presented by NYRA Bets (G1) due to a quarter crack. Owned by Aaron Sones, Ethereal Road was pointed to the final leg of the Triple Crown at Belmont Park by Lukas after winning the May 21 Sir Barton Stakes Sponsored by Brandon and Diannah Perry to Benefit the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance at Pimlico Race Course. "He popped a quarter crack. We'll soak it and get him better and look for another one," Lukas said. "I really wanted to run him in (the Belmont), I thought that's the one he really fit. But the horse has the final say, so we'll have to skip it." Though he will not race in any of the three legs, Ethereal Road had a profound impact on the series. When he was scratched from the Kentucky Derby, it allowed Rich Strike to draw into the May 7 classic off the also-eligible list and post his improbable 80-1 upset. Lukas mentioned the June 25 Ohio Derby (G3) as a possibility for Ethereal Road, along with the July 30 Jim Dandy Stakes (G2) and Aug. 27 Runhappy Travers Stakes (G1), both at Saratoga Race Course. "We'll look at the Ohio Derby, definitely the Jim Dandy and Travers will be on our radar," Lukas said. "We'll bring him up to Saratoga, so we'll look at that." With the injury to Ethereal Road and the decision by the connections of Howling Time to skip the Belmont, a field of eight is taking shape for the 1 1/2-mile classic. The likely starters are Kentucky Derby winner Rich Strike, Mo Donegal, We the People, Nest, Creative Minister, Barber Road, Skippylongstocking, and Golden Glider. The post position draw is set for June 7 at 11 a.m. ET