Queensland Derby winner Brambles has joined the list of spring racing casualties, having failed to recover in time from a bout of travel sickness.
Trainer Peter Moody had initially considered Brambles to have overcome the problem, but he informed stewards on Friday the four-year-old would not race this spring.
“The weather’s turned, so we’ll get him out and get a bit of spring on his back and just aim him at the autumn,” Moody said.
Brambles had been considered one of the leading local contenders for the $2.5 million Caulfield Cup (2400m) before falling ill while travelling home from Queensland.
He recovered well enough for him to be aimed at races late in the spring carnival, but he will now be kept until the autumn.
The complaint suffered by Brambles can occur during travelling when a horse is confined in a box and doesn’t lower its head often enough to allow the natural discharge of mucus.
As a result, the mucus can flow back into the horse’s lungs and lead to an infection similar to pneumonia.
