The second half of 2015 is one Caulfield trainer Colin Little would rather to forget.
He had two promising fillies heading towards the spring carnival but both were in the paddock when the big races were run.
Jalan Jalan
Jalan Jalan was high in markets for the Group One Thousand Guineas before a knee injury put paid to those plans.
The daughter of Foreplay is still recuperating and will miss the Melbourne autumn.
“We had to make a decision whether to rush her back,” Little said.
“She had to have a mandatory amount of time after a knee operation and we only had about eight weeks to get her ready.
“We made the hard decision to not do that. She misses spring and now she misses autumn, but there’s always another race.”
Little hopes he can get the filly to Sydney and/or Brisbane in winter.
The trainer planned to start the unbeaten Safariann at Caulfield on Boxing Day, but her return has been delayed.
A winner on debut at Geelong on May 28, Safariann backed up nine days later to win at Moonee Valley.
While she was having a short break to get ready for the spring, the filly broke a splint bone and needed an operation.
Little said Safariann had been coming along well until she punctured the sole of a foot after pulling a shoe off.
“She went to Sandown and worked, worked really well,” Little said.
“I sent an email out to the owners that she was going great and next day she pulls the shoe off.
“She’s back in work now and is OK but she’s probably three or four weeks away.”
Little is looking towards the better class three-year-old fillies races during the autumn, and though she hasn’t yet gone past 1200m, he thinks she will handle more ground.
