Trainer: 2-year old out for some time

HOT SPRINGS — Tyler’s Tribe, the 2-year-old gelding who raced as a summertime sensation in Iowa, will get at least a two-month vacation after he bled in two consecutive races — a Breeders’ Cup turf sprint on Nov. 4 and Oaklawn Racing Casino Resort’s Advent Stakes for 2-year-old horses Friday, the opening day for the track’s 2022-23 meet.

Tyler’s Tribe first bled in the Grade I Breeders’ Cup 51/ 2- furlong Juvenile Turf Sprint, in which he faded from first to last in the field of 12 at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky. Tyler’s Tribe struggled late but held on to finish third of nine in the 51/ 2- furlong Advent Stakes at Oaklawn.

“I probably won’t run him for a while,” said Tim Martin, the trainer for Tyler’s Tribe. “I want to work on the healing for him. I was shocked that this horse bled again. I worked him twice on Lasix. I worked him in company and he didn’t bleed. I scoped him, but he started bleeding [in the Advent]. He first started in the Breeders’ Cup, and then it can just be hard to stop. It’s just going to take some time and some therapy. Anyway, he’s going to the farm today.”

Martin said he would move Tyler’s Tribe from his barn at Oaklawn to the Royal Training Center, about 15 miles west of Hot Springs, on Monday.

Lasix, or furosemide, is used to prevent respiratory bleeding in horses running at high speed. Blood entering a racehorse’s lungs during significant physical activity can lead to a wide range of negative results.

With no signs of bleeding, Tyler’s Tribe, a son of Sharp Azteca, won his first five sprint starts, including four against stakes company, by a total of 59 lengths at Prairie Meadows in Altoona, Iowa, between June 20 and Oct. 1.

Jockey Kylee Jordan has ridden each of Tyler’s Tribe’s seven starts, including the Advent. She said Tyler’s Tribe struggled late in his first Oaklawn start.

“Down the lane, he didn’t finish up like he had in Iowa,” Jordan said. “I kind of figured and I could tell in the gallop out. When he bleeds, he switches his lead a bit harder, and he’s just not as fluid as he usually is.”

Jordan was the rider for two winners in 14 starts through the first three days of racing at Oaklawn. Through the entire 2021-22 Oaklawn meet, Jordan rode eight winners in 144 starts.

Martin said Tyler’s Tribe might return in time for a race late in Oaklawn’s new meet, which runs through May 6. There is also a chance Tyler’s Tribe will not race until his 4-year-old season begins early in 2024, Martin said.

“I’m going to just let him be a regular horse for a while until we can get back to training,” Martin said. “I might try to catch something later on at Oaklawn if he’s good. If he’s not, we’ll just wait until later when I’ll see what he can do.”