Unbeaten filly Atlantic Jewel is doing light exercise but a decision about an autumn campaign won’t be known until further scans are done on her early next month.
The winner of five races including the Group One Thousand Guineas, Atlantic Jewel suffered a mystery injury after she streaked away to a seven-length win in the Group Two Wakeful Stakes (2000m) at Flemington on October 29.
The daughter of Fastnet Rock was odds-on favourite for the VRC Oaks five days later but missed the Classic when scintigraphy images revealed hot spots in her back area.
Trainer Mark Kavanagh said it was probably a common problem rarely diagnosed and is optimistic that she is on the way back.
“All the indications are that she is in good order,” Kavanagh said.
“She is doing light exercise up at the farm (at Gisborne South) and she is having a roll the which is good.
“It is looking pretty positive but we have just got to wait until she’s had the scintigraphy again in the first week of January and that will give us a good indication of what we do with her.”
Kavanagh said no decision had been made on when Atlantic Jewel might resume on the racetrack although, if she came back in the autumn, the 2012 Sydney carnival looked more likely for her than Melbourne.
Meanwhile, the racing future of her more celebrated stablemate Whobegotyou remains uncertain.
The six-year-old is keeping Atlantic Jewel company in the country surroundings but is still resting after wear and tear issues which halted his spring campaign after just two runs.
The 2010 Cox Plate placegetter won the Group Two Lawrence Stakes (1400m) at Caulfield first-up in August but was spelled after finishing third to Rekindled Interest in the Group Two Dato Tan Chin Nam Stakes which he had won the two previous years at Moonee Valley.
“He is still resting at the moment and he’s having treatment for his joints and if that works okay then we will decide what happens,” Kavanagh said.
“We have just got to get him back sound before we can do anything.”
Whobegotyou has won 10 of his 29 starts including the 2008 Caulfield Guineas and 2009 Caulfield Stakes, and earned $3.26 million in stakes.
AAP TURF
