By Christie DeBernardis
Metaboss (Street Boss), who unleashed a powerful late rally to take down Golden Gate's GIII El Camino Real Derby Feb. 14, is back in training after having surgery to remove an ankle chip in the spring.
“He was training for the [GII] American Turf on Derby day and he had a little flake in the ankle, so we took that out,” said Mersad Metanovic, who picked the chestnut out at the 2012 Keeneland November sale and heads the colt's large ownership group. “It was nothing major, but we just felt he had done enough at that point. We got that cleaned up and just gave him time. He does have a May 17 birthday so we thought we would be a little kinder to him considering he [technically] had been running as a 2-year-old still.”
The sophomore, who was last seen finishing sixth as the favorite in Turfway's GIII Spiral S. Mar. 21, has been transferred from California-based conditioner Jeff Bonde to the Maryland-based Michael Dickinson.
“We are excited that Michael Dickinson is back in training so we have given him the horse.,” Metanovic said. “The horse was already in Kentucky and it made a lot of sense for us to run on the East Coast. I think there are more opportunities for grass races in that area right now.”
As for when Metaboss is expected to return to the races, Metanovic said, “We are probably looking at February. It depends on the horse and what Michael thinks and where the horse is at physically. WinStar did a phenomenal job with him [during his recovery] and I'm sure Michael will as well.”
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