Trainer Lee Freedman is still confident that he will get Our Ivanhowe to the track even though he is under an injury cloud heading into the Group 1 $1.5m The BMW (2400m) at Rosehill on Saturday.
Kerrin McEvoy will be the new jockey for Our Ivanhowe if he is passed fit to run in the The BMW at Rosehill. Photo by Daniel Costello.
Our Ivanhowe is one of the top fancies for the weight for age feature but will have to overcome a minor foot injury if he is going to be passed fit to start.
The German import has developed a foot abscess and Freedman informed Racing New South Wales head steward Ray Murrihy who will organised a vets inspection on Saturday morning.
“He’s got a little issue with the foot,” Freedman told Racing.com’s Racing Ahead.
“He’s a bit scratchy. My farrier’s looking at him today. We’re doing all the normal things.
“Mr Murrihy was really good about it, appreciated the call.
“We’re just going to monitor it. It’s nothing we haven’t seen a million times.
“Hopefully, he gets there fine. If he does, he’ll be very hard to beat.”
Our Ivanhowe has had two runs back from a spell this Autumn and Freedman was really looking forward to getting the six year old onto a rain affected track and could see that happening this weekend with the Rosehill track rated a Soft 5 on Thursday morning with some showers forecast for Friday.
First up from a spell Our Ivanhowe finished an unlucky fifth to Bow Creek in the Group 2 $200,000 Crown Golden Ale Peter Young Stakes (1800m) at Caulfield on February 27 then ran fifth again to Preferment in the Group 1 $1.5m Australian Cup (2000m) at Flemington on March 12.
Freedman, who trains in partnership with his brother Anthony, has tinkered with Our Ivanhowe’s race day gear, switching from the blinkers to a visor.
Jockey Kerrin McEvoy takes over from Ben Melham on Our Ivanhowe who has drawn barrier eight in the ten horse BMW field.
Our Ivanhowe is on the second line of betting for The BMW at $4.60 behind the Chris Waller trained Preferment who heads the Ladbrokes.com.au market order at $3.10.
The BMW market order at Ladbrokes.com.au: $3.10 Preferment, $4.60 Our Ivanhowe, $5.50 Mongolian Khan, $8.50 Who Shot Thebarman, $9 Rising Romance, $11 Montaigne, $12 Almoonqith, $21 Grand Marshall, $26 Storm The Stars, Arab Dawn.
