User:Aspening/Patch (horse)

Patch (foaled March 18, 2014) is an American Thoroughbred racehorse.

Leading up to his run in the 2017 Kentucky Derby, Patch received substantial press coverage due to the fact that he is missing his left eye. Despite the hype, Patch finished a disappointing fourteenth in the Kentucky Derby. His connections elected to bypass the Preakness Stakes and aim for the Belmont Stakes, where he finished in third place.

Background
Patch is a bay colt bred in Kentucky by Calumet Farm. He is from the first crop of Union Rags, who won the Champagne Stakes and Saratoga Special Stakes at two and at three won the Fountain of Youth Stakes and the Belmont Stakes, the final leg of the American Triple Crown. About a month after Union Rags' Belmont win, he sustained a season-ending suspensory injury. After weighing the risks of returning him to training upon his recovery, Union Rags' owner Phyllis Wyeth opted to retire him to stud at Lane's End Farm. In his first year at stud, Union Rags also sired Grade 1-winning fillies Dancing Rags, Union Strike, and Paradise Woods.

Patch is the fifth foal out of Windyindy, a daughter of A.P. Indy out of Unbridled Wind, a full sister to Banshee Breeze. Windyindy won three of her 15 starts on the track. Though she primarily raced in maiden and allowance company, she did start in the Vinery Madison Stakes and Humana Distaff Handicap in 2008, finishing seventh in both races. Besides Patch, Windyindy has also produced Indiana Oaks winner Tiz Windy, a daughter of Tiznow foaled in 2011. Calumet Farm bought Windyindy at the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale in 2013 for $180,000 with Patch in utero, and is thus his breeder of record.

Patch was foaled on on March 18, 2014 at Calumet Farm in Lexington, Kentucky. His early training was done at the Stonestreet Training Center near Ocala, Florida, alongside other newly turned two-year-olds owned by Calumet Farm. He then joined the stable of Todd Pletcher in the spring of 2016.

Patch's name was not intended as a reference to his missing eye. His name, which he was given before his eye was removed, is a play off of his sire Union Rags' name.

Losing his eye
In June 2016, Patch's left eye became swollen and infected for an unknown reason. "We came in one morning and his eye was a little bit swollen, and he was tearing heavily," Pletcher told NBC Sports about the incident. Patch was treated at the barn for a few days, but the eye stopped responding to treatment and so he was sent to Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital in Saratoga Springs, New York. The veterinarians there noted that the eye did not have any discoloration nor a cloudy appearance. They determined the eye could not be salvaged and so it was removed.

Pletcher was concerned about Patch's adjustment to his vision loss, so he sent him to his father's training center in Ocala, Florida. Two weeks later, Pletcher's father called Pletcher and told him that the horse was fine and "training fantastic." Since he adjusted so well, Patch was able to return to regular race training, rejoining Pletcher's stable at Palm Beach Downs for the winter.

2017: three-year-old season
Patch missed his entire two-year-old season due to the loss of his eye. His first start was on January 15, 2017 in a six furlong maiden special weight at Gulfstream Park. Patch, under jockey Javier Castellano, was caught wide on the far turn and closed in the stretch to finish second to winner Impressive Edge. Just over a month later, on February 18, Patch broke his maiden in another Gulfstream maiden special weight, this time at a distance of one mile. Facing off against thirteen other three-year-olds, Patch broke from the gate well and stalked the pace for much of the race, then took command in the stretch and came under the wire first, $1 3/4$ lengths ahead of 53-1 longshot Meantime.

Seeing talent in Patch, his owners elected to ship him to Fair Grounds Race Course for the Grade II Louisiana Derby on April 1. Prior to the race, Pletcher's assistant Adele Bellinger said she had faith in Patch despite the large step up in class. "[He] has a nice turn of foot and a lot of talent. It's not easy to jump up into a grade 2 out of a maiden race, but I feel like we have a sound, happy horse and that gives me confidence going into the race," she told The Blood-Horse. In the Louisiana Derby, Patch bumped into another horse at the start but rallied entering the stretch, ultimately finishing second to the favorite Girvin. His second place finish earned him 40 points on the 2017 Road to the Kentucky Derby, enough to qualify him for the race.