Londehero returns to training with Matt Dunn this week with the $1 million Golden Rose at Rosehill in September an ambitious target.
His return coincides with another setback for stablemate The White Hope, a horse Dunn rates as among the most talented he has trained but also one of the most frustrating.
“He was supposed to trial at the Gold Coast a couple of weeks ago but he spiked a temperature,” the Murwillumbah-based Dunn said.
“Normally I would’ve kept him going but so many little things have built up that I thought it was best to tip him out.”
The White Hope suffered a hoof problem after he ran third at Eagle Farm on March 30 which followed four consecutive wins by wide margins in sizzling times.
“It was like a little ligament tear and was quite unusual and hard to find,” Dunn said.
“We finally tracked it down to the area where his flexor tendon attaches to the pedal bone and we got him through it 100 per cent but then he got the temperature spike and we had to stop again.”
Dunn said the elevated temperature was caused by an airway infection that required a large dose of penicillin to treat.
“He got pretty sick and weighing everything up the best option was to pull the plug and start again from scratch,” he said.
“He doesn’t need a long spell. Just some time to let down and get over it.”
Londehero will begin his campaign in Brisbane to see if he can measure up to the better races.
“I’ll give him two starts up here and just let him tell us where he needs to go,” Dunn said.
“He’s in the Golden Rose but whether he gets there or not I don’t know. He’s eligible for the QTIS and BOBS schemes so there should be plenty of races to choose from.”
The long-term goal for The White Hope is the Magic Millions Cup (1400m) at the Gold Coast in January.
