Toby's Corner is Scratched From Kentucky Derby

The road to the Kentucky Derby has just taken its latest sharp fork in the road as Uncle Mo (Indian Charlie)'s vanquisher was removed due to a leg problem. Toby's Corner (Bellamy Road), trained by popular conditioner Graham Motion, was an upset 8/1 victor in the Grade 1 Wood Memorial with the then undefeated Uncle Mo coming out of the gate at 1/9 only to run a tame third.

Motion confirmed that Toby's Corner had appeared to be a bit lame on his near-hind leg on Monday morning but the actual problem couldn't be diagnosed. A subsequent scan came up inconclusive as well but connections have chosen to err on the side of caution and not push Toby's Corner further.

Speaking to the Racing Post, the English-born conditioner declared “he was still off this morning and obviously we couldn't get on the van.” Toby's Corner had been scheduled to ship down from his home-base in Maryland at Fair Hill Training Center.

The latest withdrawal comes just a day before the post positions and final declarations are revealed. The 137th iteration of the Kentucky Derby is set to run at Churchill Downs on Saturday amidst a number of negative comments from the industry about the quality of the entrants on display – despite the average earnings per winner being higher than last year's race which failed to draw an identical level of criticsm.

Toby's Corner's removal has opened the door for the aptly-titled Coolmore Lexington Stakes winner Derby Kitten (Kitten's Joy) to line up in the Kentucky Derby. Toby's Corner had been trading around 16/1 with most European bookmakers before being withdrawn.