The Bonecrusher NZ Stakes winning mare had trialed brilliantly at Te Rapa three weeks ago but an abscess in hock has proved troublesome enough that it had to be lanced.
“It wasn’t a particularly big deal but it wasn’t responding to antibiotics as we wanted and causing her hock to swell up,” co-trainer Robert Wellwood said.
“So it has been lanced and she has a drain in it but she was walking on it [yesterday] and we hope to have her back in work next week.
“It will set her back a week or two but she will still almost certainly be racing this spring.”
The setback means Prowess won’t head to Melbourne early for the Memsie Stakes at Caulfield on Saturday week.
“She will definitely miss that and probably head to Melbourne later
in the spring where races like the Empire Rose [Flemington, November 4] look her most likely targets.
“It is by no means a huge deal because we were always keen for her to have a quieter spring and she has the new $1m 4-year-old race at the Karaka Millions she can potentially be aimed at to start next year.”
Prowess’s arch-rival Legarto (they are 1-1 head-to-head) was to have been aimed at the Flemington carnival but she, too, may have a change of direction if she continues to please co-trainer Ken Kelso.
“Originally we were keen to get
her back to Flemington where she won the Australian Guineas, but depending how she is racing, we are now leaning towards the Golden Eagle in Sydney,” Kelso told the Herald.
“Everything is race by race but we are very happy with her, and while some 4-year-old mares don’t come up in the spring, I’ve seen nothing to suggest she won’t.”
Legarto’s trial against Imperatriz today should give Kelso a good guide on how fit she is for her likely comeback race, the Tarzino Trophy at Hastings on September 9.
“That is where she is heading as long as I don’t think the track will be a bog.
“If the weather holds and the track is okay, that is definitely her aim,
and then, all going well, we could even return there for the Arrowfield [September 30].”
If, and that is a big double Group1 if, Legarto is at her peak by then, Kelso says the Golden Eagle could tempt him away from Melbourne.
“We initially wanted her to head back to Flemington, but that means weight-for-age racing, whereas the Golden Eagle is 4-year-olds only and worth A$10m.
“It would also be five weeks after the Arrowfield, the same gap she had between runs when she won the Australian Guineas, so that is her very tentative plan. But I want to stress that is all race by race, as any race can change things.”
Today’s Taupō meeting not only hosts the hot trials but also two class 3-year-old races to end the programme, which will be pointers to the spring black type races.
