Queen’s Cup winner Moudre has broken down and won’t race this spring.
Warrnambool trainer Ciaron Maher confirmed the six-year-old had suffered a tendon injury and would be off the scene for a year.
Maher was excited about Moudre’s spring prospects after he showed so much promise last season.
Among his performances were a close second to Melbourne Cup winner Americain in the Geelong Cup and a luckless fourth to Melbourne Cup runner-up Maluckyday in the Lexus at Flemington.
Moudre failed to come up in the autumn and was spelled after three unplaced runs, but Maher had been thrilled with his progress this preparation.
“It’s very disappointing he won’t race this spring because is a six-year-old and that is the time you want a stayer,” Maher said.
He said Moudre had pleased in two jumpouts, most recently last Wednesday on the Geelong synthetic track.
“He probably aggravated the tendon when he trialled the other day,” Maher said.
“A bit of heat came in it and we had it scanned over the weekend and there is a little tear there.”
Moudre, who has won seven of 20 starts and more than $530,000, was to have resumed in Saturday’s PB Lawrence Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield.
He had also been nominated for both the Caulfield Cup and the Cox Plate.
“We will give him plenty of time and getting him back for July next year is realistic,” Maher said.
Meanwhile, Toorak Toff and Shadows In The Sun have joined the mix for two of the spring racing carnival’s majors after being paid up as late nominations on Tuesday.
The Group One-winning four-year-olds were among six late entries for signature events at Caulfield and Moonee Valley for which original nominations closed last Tuesday.
The Rick Hore-Lacy-trained Toorak Toff, winner of last year’s Group One Golden Rose in Sydney, was the only late nomination for the $3 million Cox Plate (2040m) at Moonee Valley on October 22.
Anthony Cummings’ Shadows In The Sun, this year’s South Australian Derby winner, was a late entry for the Caulfield Cup (2400m) on October 15.
Cummings also paid a late Caulfield Cup entry for five-year-old Home On A Wing who last Saturday scored a dominant win over 2000 metres at Randwick.
There were also two late nominations for the $1 million Caulfield Guineas (1600m) on October 8.
Nikki Burke has entered unraced Stratum gelding Unpretentious, who won a trial at Cranbourne on Monday, while Queensland trainer Brian Smith has entered unraced Ad Valorem colt State Of Wealth.
The Robbie Griffiths-trained Westend Smash, a daughter of Gonski who was also a winner of one of Monday’s Cranbourne trials, was the only late entry for the Thousand Guineas on October 12.
AAP TURF
