Last-start Sydney failure Peal Of Bells will need to pass a track gallop and a veterinary test before he is cleared to start in the Grafton Cup.
Peal Of Bells has been scratched from the Queensland Cup on Saturday and trainer Gwenda Markwell will instead gallop the stayer between races at Kembla Grange on Tuesday to prove his fitness.
“Stewards will make a decision as to whether the gelding may then proceed to the Grafton Cup,” a Racing NSW statement said.
Peal Of Bells was beaten more than 20 lengths on a heavy track in the Winter Cup at Rosehill on Monday.
The defeat amounted to a serious reversal of form after he won the Stayers Cup at Randwick by almost seven lengths.
Markwell told a stewards’ inquiry Peal Of Bells’s preparation leading up to Monday’s race had been affected by training track closures because of wet weather.
With Rosehill races washed out last Saturday, Markwell said some unscheduled beach work may have flattened Peal Of Bells for Monday’s race.
Stewards gave the go-ahead for Peal Of Bells to gallop at Kembla Grange on Tuesday after Markwell argued the stayer would not be sharp enough to be competitive in a barrier trial over a sprint distance.
Peal Of Bells has been given the limit of 54kg in the Grafton Cup next Thursday with Peter Moody’s import Voila Ici heading the weights on 59kg, ahead of Caloundra Cup winner Zennista and two-time Group One winner Fiumicino on 57kg.
Top sprinter Howmuchdoyouloveme has been asked to carry 60.5kg in his attempt to go back-to-back in the Ramornie Handicap at Grafton on Wednesday.
