ARCADIA, Calif. - Questing, who was eased in the early stages of Friday's $2 million Breeders' Cup Ladies' Classic at Santa Anita, was found later that night to have suffered a contusion that caused her left eye to close.
She was treated with medication and the filly seemed to be improving Saturday morning, as her eye was open.
"Not sure why, how or when it happened," trainer Kiaran McLaughlin said. "Other than that she's okay."
Neal McLaughlin, assistant to his brother, said he received a call Friday around 8 p.m. that something was amiss with Questing.
"She was not a happy camper," Neal McLaughlin said.
Questing, who had scored front-running victories in the Coaching Club American Oaks and Alabama during the summer at Saratoga, was expected to set the pace in the Ladies' Classic. She was flat from the moment the gates opened, and was pulled up about a half-mile into the race by jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. She was the 8-1 fourth choice in the field of eight.
McLaughlin said that Questing would be sent to Kentucky on Monday for a break and to be examined further. McLaughlin said no decision had been made on whether Questing would remain in training or be retired.
"We'll give her a break. She's been running consistently for a year, since last year's Breeders' Cup," McLaughlin said. "She didn't miss any days - except yesterday."