Injury has done what New Zealand's best pacers couldn't - stopped Flashing Red.
The dual New Zealand Cup hero may miss next weeks A$350,000 Victoria Cup after suffering a leg infection.
Trainer Stu Hunter said the infection was a complication of treatment of Flashing Red's old joints.
Huntertook over the training of Flashing Red after Canterbury horsemen Tim Butt and Phil Anderson trained him to win the last two New Zealand Cups.
The second, last month, was in world record time for a 3200m standing start and stunned the harness racing industry after Flashing Red had struggled to win a race since the Auckland Cup eight months earlier.
Just two days later though, Butt was informed Hunter, who has trained Flashing Red for most of his career, would be taking Flashing Red back to his native Australia to be set for the Victoria Cup.
That move looks to have come undone though, with Hunter saying treatment of the infection could rule Flashing Red out of the Victoria Cup.
"He is likely to need antibiotics and he won't be able to race on those so we are a big chance to miss the race," said Hunter.
Flashing Red was to have raced in the Poplar Alm Free-For-All at Moonee Valley this Saturday but has not even been nominated.
If he misses the Victoria Cup it leaves the race open for Sting Lika Bee, who won his seventh major cup of the year at Cranbourne last Saturday. Blacks A Fake is unable to travel to Victoria until next month because of equine influenza restrictions.
