With an overseas sale off the agenda for now, Te Awamutu trainer Stephen Ralph is free to dream big with highly talented three-year-old Explosively starting with a first black-type test in tomorrow's Group 3 Bonecrusher Stakes (1400m) at Ellerslie.
Offshore offers have circled the son of Sweynesse throughout this spring, following an impressive four-length trial win at Taupo in early October and an equally emphatic performance on debut at Te Rapa last month.
"A sale to Hong Kong fell through after that trial win because one of his hocks failed their strict vetting," Ralph said. "There was another offer from Australia after he won at Te Rapa, which was accepted subject to vet clearance.
"We disclosed to those buyers what had happened with the Hong Kong offer, and after doing their own inspections and X-rays, they declined to carry on with the deal.
"So we've still got him to race, which is fantastic for us. I was at the races when that news came through via text, and I said to Jamie Richards, 'Imagine how good this horse could be if he had good hocks?'