Promising hurdler Now And Zen has undergone surgery for colic, ruling him out of the remainder of the jumps season.
The Darren Weir-trained jumper was being prepared for the Galleywood Hurdle over 3200m on May 4, the middle day of the three-day Warrnambool carnival.
He took a step towards that race when he won a hurdle school at Warrnambool on Friday, but soon after was found to have developed colic.
Now And Zen underwent an operation on Friday evening and will now need three months off, which puts him out of contention for the rest of the jumps season which finishes in September.
The winner of his first four starts over jumps last season, Now And Zen was spelled after running fourth in the Grand National Hurdle at Warrnambool last July.
After five flat runs before a return to jumping, Now And Zen displayed his class winning the Somerled Hurdle over 3600m at Oakbank on Easter Monday.
Jumps racing returns to the city area in Melbourne on Wednesday with a hurdle and steeplechase at Sandown.
There were no jumps races run in the metropolitan area last year when Sandown was closed for remedial works and the major races transferred to Ballarat and Warrnambool.
