Maurice Native Keith Desormeaux’s Long Shot Suffers Injury To End 2013 Chase For Kentucky Derby

An injury during a Saturday workout forces Desormeaux and Ive Struck A Nerve to pull out of the Road to the Kentucky Derby.

This comes just weeks after Desormeaux's 3-year-old colt won the 2013 Risen Star Stakes, overcoming 135-1 odds. It was the biggest upset in the 40-year history of the Grade II race and placed them at the top of the Leadership Board on the Road to the Kentucky Derby.

Desormeaux, brother of Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux and trainer for Ive Struck A Nerve, says they noticed "that he (Ive Struck A Nerve) was a little off in his left-front ankle" while taking his bath after finishing a workout last Saturday. Turns out, the horse fractured his sesamoid, but did not shatter it.

Desormeaux says the good news is that it looks good that Ive Struck A Nerve will return to racing, but maybe in about six months. He's happy that the horse's life is not in danger and that he's not in severe pain:

It’s disappointing but we’re a long way from being suicidal. The owner’s very optimistic, we have other horses in the barn and we love the game. This horse will be well taken care of and he doesn’t owe us anything. He’s given us thrills beyond expectations so how can we be disappointed, really?

The Kentucky Derby, by the way, is on Saturday, May 4.