Top Kentucky Derby contender Not This Time retired with leg injury

Not This Time, one of the top contenders for the 2017 Kentucky Derby, has been retired from racing.

The 2-year-old colt, owned and bred by Albaugh Family Stable, suffered a soft tissue injury to his right front leg while finishing second in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita Park on Nov. 5.

Taylor Made Stallions, which made the announcement in a news release Monday, has acquired 50 percent of Not This Time, and the son of Giant’s Causeway will stand stud at the Nicholasville-based farm in 2017 for a fee of $15,000.

“I really believe Not This Time might have been the best horse I’ve ever had, so it’s a real shame to see him leave the barn before we got to see him fulfill his enormous potential, because there’s no doubt in my mind he was as good of a Kentucky Derby contender as there is out there,” trainer Dale Romans said.

Not This Time won his two starts prior to the Juvenile by a combined 18 3/4 lengths and was the 5-2 favorite in that race, in which Classic Empire defeated Not This Time by a neck. Not This Time was the 14-1 co-favorite to win the 2017 Kentucky Derby in early odds released this month by Bovada Sportsbook.

“Not This Time ran such a huge 2-year old campaign, and being considered a top contender for next year's Kentucky Derby, it really saddens me that his racing career is ending too soon,” Dennis Albaugh of Albaugh Family Stable said.

Not This Time became the favorite for the Grade I Juvenile after his 8 3/4 -length win in the $150,000 Iroquois Stakes at Churchill Downs in September.

“What I felt was extreme talent there,” jockey Robby Albarado said. “That was some kind of feeling. He’s one of the best I’ve ever sat on.”

Not this time compiled career earnings of $454,183, winning two of his four career starts.

“Not This Time has it all, and was arguably the best 2-year-old in 2016,” said Taylor Made’s Duncan Taylor. “He just oozed brilliance.”

This story was originally published November 21, 2016 at 2:45 PM with the headline "Top Kentucky Derby contender Not This Time retired with leg injury."