A mistake by a float company in New Zealand on Saturday may place the preparation of top stayer Harris Tweed in jeopardy.
Harris Tweed, who ran second in last year’s Caulfield Cup before finishing fifth in the Melbourne Cup, was due to return to racing in the Group 3 Taranaki Cup (1800m) at New Plymouth.
Harris Tweed's Autumn campaign in doubt - Photo by Steve Hart
It was to be his one and only run before the Group 1 Australian Cup (2000m) on March 12.
However, the float that was to take him to New Plymouth (three hours south of his stables at Cambridge) accidentally had him headed to Ellerslie racecourse in Auckland.
Ellerslie is approximately two hours north of Cambridge and five hours from New Plymouth.
Trainer Murray Baker said that Harris Tweed would only have arrived on course half an hour before the race, giving him no option but to scratch him.
“The whole business is an absolute disgrace,” Baker told the Taranaki Daily News.
Majestic Horse Float, the company behind the blunder, was carrying a number of horses for the New Plymouth meeting – including the winner of the last race.
Baker admitted that the Australian Cup preparations for Harris Tweed were in trouble.
Written by Andrew Hawkins
