Tarzino's spring campaign is in doubt following his scratching from the Caulfield Cup
Trainer Mick Price says the rest of Tarzino’s spring campaign is in doubt following his scratching from the Caulfield Cup.
Tarzino, a one-time favourite for the Caulfield Cup, was scratched on Saturday morning with swelling to his left foreleg.
Last season’s Victoria Derby and Rosehill Guineas winner will be taken to the Ballarat Equine Clinic for scintigraphy, a process which uses a small amount of a radioactive material to show up hot spots that are otherwise hard to diagnose.
Price said there was fluid around a part of the tendon that runs between the pastern and the fetlock.
“The horse is sound to ride but I think the potential for injury is there and the horse could have a big autumn,” Price told RSN927.
“The ultrasound hasn’t quite found what we’re looking for but there’s something there and we need a bit more information about it.
“I would say this preparation is in grave doubt.”
Price said the first time he held concerns about Tarzino was following his performance in the Turnbull Stakes at Flemington on October 2.
Tarzino finished sixth behind Hartnell and Jameka after hanging in up the Flemington straight.
“He was due to run very well but hung in,” Price said.
“He pulled-up a little bit jointy but I wasn’t too concerned.
“In the last couple of days the fluid that has been gathering around that area shouldn’t be there at all.
“It’s a soft tissue thing. We’ll get the information from Ballarat and act from there.”
Tarzino sits on the 7th line of order of entry for the Melbourne Cup 2016.
