The Ciaron Maher and David Eustace trained San Huberto, who scored an impressive four length win in the Listed Bagot Handicap at Flemington on New Year’s day, has suffered a tendon injury which could be serious enough to place his future racing career in doubt.
After pulling up sore, a lesion was discovered. Whether it is an entirely new injury or part of an old problem has yet to be identified and the same can be said of what ramifications will follow on from this setback.
“There’s a lesion there, it’s in the same leg that we did have some suspensory problems about eighteen months ago so it certainly looks as though it could be connected to that,” said Terry Henderson, the CEO of OTI Racing, whose colours San Huberto carried to victory on Saturday, talking to Racing.com.
“It’ll be a week or so before things settle down, we’ll know by then the severity of it and then decide whether a rehab program is warranted or whether we retire the horse. He’s getting to an age where it’s not getting any easier to get him back,” added Henderson.
Saturday’s effort was the imports tenth start in Australia … for his third training stable … and the signs were so encouraging after his breakthrough win in the country, but the ‘twenty-four hours in racing is a long time’ story raised it head to stop any immediate further progress on the part of San Huberto in its tracks.
While San Huberto had not won in Australia before Saturday, the now seven-year-old had previously recorded two notable placings … in the 2020 Sandown Cup, when he finished third behind Carif, and in the 2021 Morning Cup Prelude when second behind Defibrillate, who only recently won the Group 1 Zabeel Classic in New Zealand.
Overall, San Huberto is a five-time winner from twenty-one starts.
