Hesanoldsalt and Eibar Coa win in the rain at Saratoga 2006. (Sarah K. Andrew)

I just sat down to catch up on some news when this sad item awaited me in my RSS reader.

Apparently he reared up, got away from his handler and took off only to crash into a tree when someone tried to stop him. The full story is at Bloodhorse.

“He looked great when he came in,” said Zito. “He was gonna have a good year. It’s sad, and when I think of all the good memories we had with him, it’s just incredible. I loved that horse. He was a wonderful, wonderful addition to our barn.”

Here he is running a very game second to Corinthian in the Gulfstream Handicap last year. With a touch more distance it looks like he could have done it…

Rest in Peace.