By MIKE DILLON
Jim Campin has abandoned Hero's $A1 million Stradbroke Handicap campaign.
Campin felt there were plenty of excuses for Hero failing in Saturday's $A150,000 Carlton Cup at Doomben, but not enough to convince him the talented but erratic galloper can win a Stradbroke.
He hopes to be able to have Hero on a flight home from Brisbane tomorrow.
"I ran him in the Carlton because I felt he needed the racing after he blew very hard following his first-up run in the Byrne Hart Stakes the week before.
"But I knew at 1200m he was going to need a wet track to be competitive. It was a very hot field, Falvelon, Black Bean and Mr Innocent are three of the fastest horses in Australia and they ran 1:8.46.
"You could say I wasn't that pleased with the ride, being three and four wide after drawing handy, so there were excuses for the horse, but he did not hit the line as well as I would have liked.
"He certainly did not hit the line like a horse who was going to win in the near future nor like a Stradbroke winner."
Hero will spell and Campin says what he might aim the horse for in the spring gives him headaches.
"I want to give him a good spell, which means he won't be ready for the big meeting at Hastings he targeted this season.
"And I'm not convinced we have got over the right-handed bogey with him, so I would like to have a crack at some suitable races on the left-handed tracks in Melbourne.
"Against that is the fact that, while there have been excuses, he has yet to find his best form in Australia. I'll wait until he comes back into work to worry about where to race him."
Falvelon was devastating winning the Carlton. He is expected to improve with the race, but at no point looked like flinching in the lead and won untested by three lengths.
Racing: Hero coming home after failure in hot contest
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