Michael Bell and owner Bill Gredley suffered a major setback on Wednesday when their progressive 4-year-old Franklin D (Medaglia d'Oro) broke a leg on the gallops and had to be euthanised. The colt rose to prominence recently when landing a sizable gamble in the valuable Betfred Mile at Glorious Goodwood and was being trained for a tilt at the Korea Cup in Seoul next month. “Unfortunately, Franklin D broke a hind leg pastern this morning and couldn't be saved, Bell told The Racing Post. “It is very sad for all concerned. He was a yard favourite and very easy to train. Everybody is very disappointed and upset by this and we were looking forward to him being a pathfinder for us with his trip to South Korea. This really is a game of snakes and ladders,” the trainer added. Franklin D was originally sourced at Keeneland as a yearling by the O'Callaghan's Tally-Ho Stud before being purchased by Bill Gredley for 75,000gns at the Tattersalls Craven Breeze Up Sale. In total the colt won four times from thirteen starts for prizemoney of £145,965.
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