http://www.bloodhorse.com/talkinhorses/NZ81205.asp

Charlottesville, Va
"Dear Nick, who is your favorite horse?

Zito:
Favorite is probably Strike the Gold. Now, I have a horse that I’m attached to in Sun King. Favorite doesn’t necessarily mean the best, am I right?"

Makes sense, regarding all the "Captain of the Team" commentary. Sun King is not a bad horse. Theres just quite a few that he's gonna have trouble with.

In regard to hte Popped Splint,

"After Bellamy Road finished seventh in Saturday’s Derby as the 5-2 favorite, the injury was discovered Tuesday at Churchill Downs. A popped splint is a racing term for inflammation of the tissue covering a splint bone — a small bone between the ankle and knee."

Sexton on the splint:

"The Preakness is definitely out, with Sexton saying the report “was blown out of proportion.

The injury is not serious. It’s just bad timing,” Sexton said in a telephone interview. “We could run him in the Preakness and Belmont, but he’d never race again. This is not about greed. We have to stop. The horse comes first and you have to admire Mr. Steinbrenner for that. He took it like a man.”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7805066/

Then Zito:

"Dear Nick, Which do you feel was most to blame for Bellamy Road's loss in the Derby...

Zito:
The popped splint is there, and the lack of seasoning was there. He only had the two races. He had the best prep ever in the Wood. The splint was blind, we couldn’t see it."

Now the predominate symptom of a popped splint is temporary lameness, so what can be distilled from these statements?

1. It was discovered three days after the Derby

2. Bellamania was not lame and the splint was "blind"

3. It was minor enough that Sexton said they could have gone on in the Preakness

4. Prior to the Travers Zito still wanted to use it as an excuse for the Derby fade.

Sometimes a horse will run right through injuries. With this one, you have to wonder if it existed at all during the race. It seems they found a little inflammation three days after the event.