Horse Racing's video: 1992 Swaps Stakes

Even though Bien Bien had just given owners Trudy McCaffery and John Toffan their fourth stakes victory of the Hollywood Park meeting in the $213,400 Swaps Stakes, they weren't in the mood to celebrate. McCaffery was in tears because John Elardi's Natural Nine, the 8-5 second choice in the Grade II race, had broken down near the eighth pole and had to be destroyed. Happy with his position just off Treekster through an extremely slow pace, Laffit Pincay pulled up on Natural Nine when he sensed something was wrong with about a quarter of a mile to run. Slowed to a gallop, the Looie Cenicola-trained 3-year-old Mogambo colt, who had been plagued by physical problems throughout his seven-race career, fractured both sesamoids and dislocated the ankle in his left front leg and sent Pincay hard to the ground. Pincay said his left foot was sore but was otherwise OK and said he should be able to ride today. He didn't ride the final race, and trainer Bill Spawr elected to scratch morning-line favorite Kernel Chris because Spawr wasn't satisfied with the jockeys available to ride. "I feel fine right now," Pincay said. "I jammed my foot a little bit, but it's nothing serious. I'll put some ice on it (Saturday night) and be fine (today). "He felt fine until about the three-eighths pole. When I asked him, all of a sudden he didn't respond and I started feeling something a little funny under me. I had him galloping, but he's such a big, strong horse, that maybe the bone didn't hold. It just went."