Promising filly Azeema will be sent for a spell and miss running in the $120,000 Rivette Series Final (1600m) at Flemington on Saturday.
Azeema has been sent to the paddock and will miss the Rivette Series Final at Flemington. Photo by Adrienne Bicknell.
Azeema has shown plenty of ability with two wins and two placings from her four race starts this campaign and would have been listed as one of the top chances in the Saturday’s filly’s Final.
But trainer Mick Price has elected to send her to the paddock after she developed some soreness in her front joints and can’t see her returning to the race track before the Autumn next year.
“She’s a big, heavy Fastnet Rock filly that was just starting to feel her joints a bit so we had to send her to the paddock,” Price told racing.com.
“She’s a hard horse on herself and on her joints and it’s a shame because it looked a really good race for her.”
Azeema put herself into contention for the Rivette Series Final with a two lengths win over Kaizaen in the $80,000 Rivette Series Heat 4 (1400m) at Flemington on June 13.
The Fastnet Rock filly then ran second to Dodging Bullets in the $80,000 Brian Beattie Handicap (1610m) at Flemington on June 27 and was set to be amongst the prizemoney again on Saturday.
The Rivette Series Final has attracted twenty-six nominations with Price to be represented by Onemorenomore filly Explosive One who was beaten two and a quarter lengths when seventh to Dodging Bullets in the Brian Beattie Handicap.
The Robert Smerdon trained Kaizaen is also among the nominations and after finishing second to Azeema in the Rivette Series Heat 4 was well beaten when twelfth in the Brian Beattie Handicap.
Colin and Cindy Alderson have the top rated filly Manageress, a last start third to Dodging Bullets and they have also nominated last start Pakenham maiden winner Slinky Malinky.
Violent Snow is second in the ballot order and is finding form at the right time with a fourth to Azeema in the Rivette Series Heat 4 before running second on the Pakenham Synthetic track over 1380m in a BenchMark 70 Handicap on June 25.
