Unbeaten Waverley colt Old Fashioned is unlikely to contest the Gr.1 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m) at Riccarton on November 14 after a minor foot issue forced his withdrawal from Sunday's meeting at Trentham.
The Bill Thurlow-trained three-year-old had been among the leading contenders for the Riccarton classic following his impressive victory in the Gr.2 Hawke's Bay Guineas (1400m) on September 26, where he defeated subsequent Gr.2 Soliloquy Stakes (1400m) winner Asturia.
Old Fashioned was scheduled to have his final Guineas lead-up in Sunday's Thefracclub.com Three-Year-Old (1400m), but his scratching has left connections resigned to missing the southern feature.
“He’s just got a minor foot issue, that’s all. It’s just one of those things, they get them from time to time,” Thurlow said.
“It means he missed today, and going forward it’s not likely we’ll get to Riccarton now because we’ve missed today’s race.”
Old Fashioned has drifted from $5 to $8 in TAB's fixed odds market for the 2000 Guineas.
“It’s pretty much certain he’ll stay at home,” Thurlow said. “I’ll leave it a few days but I’d think it’s too awkward now.”
Thurlow indicated the colt would likely be given a break before returning to racing over the summer.
“We’ll probably ease up on him and race him after Christmas. You wouldn’t see him for a couple of months,” he said.
Part-owner Matthew Goodson, who races Old Fashioned alongside his wife Dianna Perron, said the colt's long-term future was the priority.
“We’re reluctant to put too much pressure on him when he’s not 100 percent,” Goodson said.
“You need everything to go right in the spring to get to the Guineas in 100 percent shape. It’s just a bugger, but hopefully he will be back around Christmas time.
“There’s a lot of races ahead in the season. We’d rather look after him in light of those rather than get to the 2000 Guineas and not have a horse afterwards.”
The Trentham race Old Fashioned was due to contest was won impressively by Thunder In Motion, a $700,000 NZB Ready to Run Sale graduate who broke his maiden at his second start for trainer Mark Forbes.
Meanwhile, current 2000 Guineas favourite System Of Play is scheduled to have his final lead-up in Monday's Gr.2 James and Annie Sarten Memorial (1400m) at Te Rapa, where he will meet fellow Guineas contenders Raymond, Rip Tide, Justin Case, Incandescent and Coniston. - NZ Racing Desk
