Gronkowski unlikely to run in Kentucky Derby due to ‘minor setback’

Jeremy Noseda’s ambitious plan to send Gronkowski to the Kentucky Derby in Louisville on Saturday week appeared to be on the brink of a frustrating conclusion on Monday evening, less than a week after Rob Gronkowski, the American football star after whom he is named, bought a share in the three-year-old.

Noseda earned a guaranteed starting berth for Gronkowski in Louisville on 5 May by winning qualifying events at Kempton Park and Newcastle but he said on Monday that his colt had suffered “a minor setback” and that “we will know where we are in the next 24 hours”. Later Noseda said that Gronkowski is now an “unlikely” runner at Churchill Downs next month and that a further statement would be released in the US in due course.

The human Gronkowski – nicknamed Gronk by American sports fans – is one of the NFL’s biggest stars and has twice won the Super Bowl with the New England Patriots. Along with Tom Brady, the Patriots quarterback, he is also a regular spectator at the Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday in May, and the equine Gronkowski’s expected presence in the field this year has attracted considerable media attention in the US.

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Gronkowski announced his purchase of a share in his namesake on Twitter five days ago, saying: “It’s official, I am part of the Gronkowski team!. Gronk acquires a stake in Gronk – the Kentucky Derby-bound racehorse.” Noseda’s colt, a son of Lonhro, is dirt-bred on his dam’s side and, while he appeared to be a big outsider for America’s biggest race on form, having competed only on British all-weather tracks, public interest had been widely expected to force his starting odds down to 20-1 or below.

Gronkowski had been due to fly to Kentucky on Friday, while Europe’s biggest hope for a first winner of the “Run For The Roses”, Aidan O’Brien’s Mendelssohn, is due to arrive in Louisville early next week.The 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket lost a significant contender on Monday when Sir Michael Stoute’s Veracious, who had been due to be ridden by Frankie Dettori, was ruled out of the fillies’ Classic. Veracious, a daughter of Frankel, was as short as 6-1 to win on 6 May, and O’Brien’s Happily, who took the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere at Chantilly on Arc day last year, is now the clear favourite for the Classic at 7-2.

Five days that will decide the Irish trainers’ championship begin at Punchestown on Tuesday afternoon when Willie Mullins will run three of his stable stars – Douvan, Un De Sceaux and Min – in the Grade One Champion Chase at 5.30 in an attempt to cut Gordon Elliott’s lead in the title race. Elliott is just over €500,000 ahead of Mullins, who pipped his rival to the championship 12 months ago after starting the Punchestown Festival with plenty of ground to make up.Both trainers have assembled huge squads of runners for this week’s meeting, but Mullins’s three main contenders for the opening day’s feature event occupy the first three places in the betting and would earn more than €200,000 if they do the same in the race itself. Doctor Phoenix is the main hope in the race for Elliott, who is top-priced at 8-11 to win the title for the first time with Mullins available at 5-4.