Joy And Fun and Happy Zero update
25 June 2010
The latest news on the two Hong Kong challengers for the British leg of the Global Sprint Challenge, the G1 Golden Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot is more hopeful than some had feared. Both horses sustained injuries which prevented them from showing their form, with Joy And Fun who suffered a fracture of his left fore that necessitated the insertion of four screws giving the most immediate cause for concern.
But Joy And Fun's injury is not necessarily career ending, or life-threatening as trainer Derek Cruz confirmed. "He's been operated on," said Cruz. "It's gone very well, and we do expect him to be able to race again. We'll give him a month to get over the operation, then bring him back to Hong Kong where he will have at least six months rest before going back into training. My sons are in England looking after him.
"The injury was such a shame," Cruz added "as he was going really well at the time it happened."
The mystery surrounding the complete failure of Happy Zero seems to have been solved too, as an examination by a leading vet at Lambourn, where the horse has been staying throughout his time in England, has revealed a sacroiliac (lower back) injury. Trainer John Moore said "This may have occurred as a result of the uphill work he's been doing in training, and then not really revealed itself until he raced.
"The Golden Jubilee run was exceedingly poor and not in keeping at all with his previous consistency. But at least we know what the problem is now. The good news is that X rays have shown there's no lesion, and the vet has advised that the way forward is to rest him under a magnetic blanket. We want to run him in the July Cup because we feel we've got unfinished business in the UK now. But if he isn't free of the problem within six days we'll bring him home and he'll be seen by the chiropractor in Hong Kong."
- HKJC
|