Skip Away Suffers Swelling, No Longer Definite For Gold Cup

As a result of a mad dash around Belmont Friday when he got loose during training hours, Skip Away has developed some slight swelling in both of his front legs and is no longer a definite starter for next Sunday’s Hollywood Gold Cup.

Trainer Sonny Hine remains optimistic that he can still make the race, but will not make a final decision until Skip Away works Tuesday.

“I just looked at him and he was 75 percent better than he was this morning,” Hine said yesterday. “There’s a better chance that I’ll go than not go, but it all depends. We’ve got to make sure all the filling is out. I don’t want to run him on ‘Bute’ because he’s never been on medication like that before and I don’t want to start.”

Skip Away was going through routine training Friday morning when another horse fell in front of him. He had to pull up sharply to avoid the horses a He galloped around the Belmont track for about 15 minutes before he was caught.

“Evidently, he jarred something,” Hine said. “He was at a full gallop and had to come to a complete stop in one jump.”

Skip Away jogged a mile-and-a-half Saturday, but may not go to the track today, Hine said. The 5-year-old is one of three stars scheduled to meet in the Hollywood Gold Cup. Silver Charm was a surprising addition to the field Friday and Gentlemen has been pointing for the race for some time.