Leading 2015 Australian Guineas contender Disposition has been ruled out of the Group 1 event at Flemington on Saturday due to a mishap at training this morning.
Disposition (inside) will not contest the 2015 Australian Guineas at Flemington this weekend. Photo by: Sarah Ebbett
Disposition was heading out to for some light trackwork at trainer Wez Hunter’s Pinecliff-based training facility when he got loose, fell over and took some skin off his near hind leg.
Hunter told TVN that Disposition would not take other long term damage from the setback, but will miss a couple of weeks of racing and will not be included in the 2015 Australian Guineas field that will be released this morning.
“Who would be a horse trainer,” Hunter asked.
“The main thing is that the horse will be okay, but he will need treatment for the next week or so.
“We will just re-assess when we know how he is.
“I’m used to dealing with all sort of disappointments, it’s not the end of the world, but I do feel for (owner) Bob Peters who sent him over here for this race and he’d been going well enough to suggest he was going to be very competitive.
“His work yesterday was brilliant.
“I thought he was going to be really hard to beat on Saturday, but life goes on.”
Hunter confirmed that Disposition would not be fit to contest the Group 1 Australian Cup (2000m) at Flemington on March 14, but is likely to head to Sydney for races like the Group 1 Rosehill Guineas (2000m) at Rosehill Gardens on March 21.
Disposition started his racing career in Perth under the care of Grant Williams and he won his first four race starts before he finished second in the Group 2 Western Australian Guineas (1600m) at Ascot on November 22 and the Group 1 Kingston Town Classic (1800m) at the same venue on December 6.
Owner Bob Peters elected to send Disposition to the Hunter stable for a 2015 Melbourne Festival Of Racing campaign that would be centered around an Australian Guineas tilt and the Reset gelding stamped himself as a legitimate contender for the race with a close second behind Wandjina in the Group 2 CS Hayes Stakes (1400m) at Flemington on February 21.
The withdrawal of Disposition means that Rommel will be left to fly the flag for Western Australian Racing in the Australian Guineas and he has been one of the best backed runners since his impressive win in the Group 3 Zeditave Stakes (1200m) last weekend.
