LOUSVILLE, Ky. — Trainer Brad Cox will have to get by with two starters in his bid to win his second Kentucky Derby after Fulleffort was scratched Thursday morning.
The Daily Racing Form, which first reported the news, said Fulleffort has a chip in his left hind ankle.
“We’ll get that cleaned up and hopefully have a fresh horse for the fall,” Cox told FanDuel TV.
Cox still has two strong contenders in the race, Further Ado and Commandment, who are both 6-1 on the morning line. The trainer won the Derby in 2021 with Mandaloun, but he didn’t know it until several months after the fact when Medina Spirit was disqualified after testing positive for a prohibited drug.
Fulleffort was coming off a strong victory in the Jeff Ruby Steaks on Turfway Park’s synthetic track. The colt has never run a race on dirt, but he’s bred to do so (sire Liam’s Map won the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile in 2015), and Cox had said he looked better training on it than he did earlier in his career.
Fulleffort’s withdrawal means Ocelli is now in the field in the No. 20 post position. Ocelli is winless in six starts, with his best showing a second in a maiden race last year. In his most recent race, the son of Connect finished third in the Wood Memorial. He will be ridden by Joe Ramos for trainer Whit Beckman.
Great White, who moved into the field Wednesday with the scratch of Silent Tactic, will now break from the No. 19 post.
There are two horses left on the also-eligible list, Robusta and Corona de Oro. If there are any other scratches before 9 a.m. EDT Friday, one or both will get into the field.
