Winslow Homer Makes Return in Iowa Derby

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Fox Hill Farm’s Winslow Homer was supposed to make his highly-anticipated return in an allowance race next month. But the 3-year-old son of Unbridled's Song is doing so well that trainer Tony Dutrow has decided to bring him back in stakes company, and with that he is an unexpected headliner in a field of six in the $250,000 Iowa Derby (gr. III) June 26 at Prairie Meadows.

Winslow Homer has not raced since he scored the Holy Bull (gr. III) at Gulfstream Park Jan. 23. A little more than a week after that he was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his right cannon bone and had surgery to repair the injury by Dr. Larry Bramlage at Rood and Riddle Equiine Hospital near Lexington. The gray/roan colt did his rehab at Tom Simon’s Vinery Farm before coming back to Dutrow’s barn in April.

Stabled at Delaware Park, he has had six works since returning, including his final Iowa Derby tune-up June 20 when breezing five furlongs in 1:00 flat. Dutrow is over the moon about the way his charge has come back from the injury and is hopeful he will make some of the major 3-year-old races this summer.

“I feel like he didn’t lose much fitness during his time off,” Dutrow said. “It was really only 60 days he missed. It wasn’t much at all.”

http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/57586/winslow-homer-makes-return-in-iowa-derby