Injury has ruled unbeaten filly The Precious One out of next month’s New Zealand 1000 Guineas at Riccarton.
A joint problem has forced trainer Claire Anderton to withdraw the blue-blood from the 1600m group 1 race her dam, The Jewel, won in 2002.
Though the problem is not considered serious, Anderton is not willing to take any risks with her highly promising 3yr-old.
"It’s not major. It’s just a bit of an issue with a joint."
"I gave her a gallop and it flared it up. It is just immaturity I think, but you can’t take the risk."
Anderton will monitor the valuable filly’s recovery closely before a decision can be made on how long the horse will be in the spelling paddock.
"I will keep her at my place for a little while and keep an eye on things and see how long she is going to need."
The Precious One made an impressive start to her career with back-to-back wins at Oamaru early in the season.
Her first serious step towards the 1000 Guineas was to have been in the Guineas Trial at Riccarton earlier this month, but a stone bruise ruled her out of the race.
The daughter of Darci Brahma and The Jewels is raced by her Woodlands breeders, the Dennis brothers. Across the Tasman, another galloper has been struck by an even more serious injury blow.
Japanese import Admire Deus, who was the favourite for the Caulfield Cup earlier this week, is under constant veterinary care after sustaining what has been described as an horrific leg injury.
The Darren Weir-trained horse was left severely lame after suffering the injury during his final serious gallop before Saturday’s $A3million ($NZ3.29million) race. Irish raider Johannes Vermeer, trained by Aiden O’Brien, moved into favouritism after the withdrawal of Admire Deus.
He then attracted significant backing with bookmakers after drawing barrier 2Kiwi raiders Bonneval and Jon Snow drew barriers 6 and 14 respectively.
- Jonny Turner
