Mountain Cat to Have Surgery on Vocal Cord

Mountain Cat, who set a record for 2-year-olds when he earned $1.4 million last year, won’t run for trainer Wayne Lukas in this year’s Kentucky Derby because of a paralyzed left vocal cord.

Mountain Cat will be flown to Kentucky today for throat surgery later this week. Lukas said that the colt will be sidelined for about three months. Horsemen familiar with Mountain Cat’s condition said that, of horses that have such surgery, about 65% race again.

Mountain Cat is considered a “roarer,” a horse that makes a labored, roaring sound while running. Roaring is caused by a loose-hanging vocal cord that blocks the larynx and limits a horse’s air intake.

In Mountain Cat’s first start as a 3-year-old, in the San Vicente Breeders’ Cup Stakes at Santa Anita on Feb. 7, he finished eighth, beating only one horse, as the third betting choice. Both Lukas and Mountain Cat’s jockey, Chris McCarron, were puzzled by his poor showing.

Mountain Cat’s purses as a 2-year-old were deceptive, in that $1 million of the total was a bonus he earned for sweeping four races at Kentucky tracks. Owned and bred by William T. Young, Mountain Cat--the son of Storm Cat and Always Mint, a Key To The Mint mare--won six of his first seven starts before he finished his 2-year-old season by running fifth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Gulfstream Park.