SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. (AP) Whitney Handicap winner Left Bank has developed a potentially deadly abdominal disorder.

Trainer Todd Pletcher said his star 5-year-old was recovering from surgery to relieve his bout with colic, the leading cause of death in horses. Left Bank is being treated at Tufts New England Veterinary Medical Center's Hospital for Large Animals in North Grafton, Mass.

There can be a number of causes to colic, including an obstruction in the colon, a twist in the small or large intestine, abnormalities in the intestinal blood supply or a parasite.

Pletcher said he was preparing to bring Left Bank out for exercise Sunday morning when he discovered the horse exhibiting symptoms of colic, which he survived when he was 2 years old.

Left Bank, which triumphed in the Whitney last Saturday, has won 14 of 24 races, earned $1.4 million, and set or equaled track records in his last two starts.

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