SPLIT PASTERN DERAILS SAVEATROL CUP CAMPAIGN
Top lightly-raced pacer Saveapatrol has been ruled out of New Zealand Cup contention for the second year running.
Burnham trainer Mark Jones said the horse was making great progress in training on the comeback trail, then split a hind pastern last Saturday.
Saveapatrol, shown winning last year’s Thames Cup in the hands of Blair Orange. (Trish Dunell photo).
“His tendon had scanned up fine but the bad luck has continued,” Mark said.
“He’ll get the pastern screwed on Tuesday, so his cup campaign is over and he’ll be out for at least three months,” he said.
Its another untimely setback for Saveapatrol, his trainer, and owner Grant Hatton.
At only his 13th start, he held out eventual triple New Zealand Cup winner Terror To Love, and another subsequent New Zealand Cup winner Arden Rooney, in the Invercargill Cup.
Saveapatrol then ran third to superstars, Terror To Love and Adore Me in the 2014 Auckland Cup at his 16th start.
Mark then sent him for precautionary surgery to a tendon and gave him a year off.
He had him back winning second-up at Auckland in the Thames Cup last July.
Freshened, he won a trial impressively at Rangiora last September but was sidelined a few days later with a new high tendon tear.
The rising 7YO Christian Cullen-Rondel Franco gelding has raced just 18 times for 11 wins, a second and a third, for $145,618 in stakes.
Meanwhile, Franco Exeter, Stuover and Danke, have all moved on from the stable this month.
Franco Exeter (5g Lis Mara-Elisit Franco), who will do his future racing in Perth, proved a consistent performer for owner Wayne Higgs, winning four and running three seconds in eight NZ starts.
Stuover (3g Changeover-Girlsjustwanahavefun), also raced by Wayne Higgs, is to join the Dean Braun stable.
He raced just three times last year for a first-up win at Rangiora, a third and an eighth.
Danke (8g Sundon-Thanx) was claimed out of the stable by the Geoff Martin stable for $4000 after racing at Cambridge on June 12.
He picked up three wins and five placings when based at Overport Lodge for Mark McNamara’s Danke For Coming Syndicate.
By Jeff Scott