The fast but fragile Sean Avery is sidelined again with a bowed tendon in his right foreleg that will not only end his year, but puts his racing future in doubt, his connections said Thursday.

The injury was detected about a week after his nose victory over Trappe Shot in the Grade 1 Alfred G. Vanderbilt on Aug. 7 at Saratoga. Sean Avery, trained by Allen Iwinski, will be sent to Lynn Boutte's farm in Ocala, Fla., where he will simply be given time off before being re-examined on April 1 to see if he can resume training.

"We caught it very early," said John Destefano, the racing manager for Black Swan Stable, which owns Sean Avery. "The plan is to send him to the farm and in six months we'll re-evaluate. If it looks good then we can start him back in training."

The injury is similar to one that sidelined him for more than a year during his 3-and 4-year-old seasons. After missing the entire 2010 campaign, Sean Avery came back strong this year winning four of five starts, including the Vanderbilt and the Longfellow Stakes at Monmouth Park, races for which he received a 112 Beyer Speed Figure.

Sean Avery, a 5-year-old gelded son of 1994 sprint champion Cherokee Run, was being pointed to the Grade 1 Vosburgh at Belmont Park on Oct. 1

"Basically the feeling is we got lucky the first time, let's hope we get lucky and get him back next year," Destefano said.

Sean Avery, named for the high-profile National Hockey League player, has a record of 6-1-2 from 10 starts with earnings of $338,180.