Vega Magic may have run his last race for Lindsay Park with the sprinter a chance to return home to Perth.
The dual Group One winner pulled up with heat in his off-fore tendon after finishing last in The Heath at Caulfield on Saturday, his first run since finishing last in the TJ Smith Stakes at Randwick in the autumn.
The gelding needs a veterinary clearance before he races again with senior Lindsay Park trainer David Hayes saying he did not appear sore.
“I’ve got to go over him with our vet, but he doesn’t seem sore,” Hayes said.
“I think they (the owners) are going to give him a break and then give him a try in Perth.
“That’s the vibe I’m getting.”
Hayes has previously blamed wet tracks for Vega Magic’s flops in The Everest last year and the TJ Smith, his two outings before Saturday’s failure.
The trainer says it appears Vega Magic does not appreciate racing in a field.
“I reckon he doesn’t race inside horses and he had to creep all-the-way on Saturday and then he emptied out,” Hayes said.
“What was worrying for me was I had blamed the wet tracks in Sydney that were very similar tracks where he gave nothing.
“That run on Saturday, on top of the ground, he also gave nothing.
“He was on his wrong leg and uncoordinated.
“He didn’t look good, but he’s certainly not sore.”
After a successful career in Perth, Vega Magic won The Goodwood in Adelaide first-up for Lindsay Park before success in the Regal Roller Stakes and Memsie Stakes ahead of a second in the inaugural running of The Everest in 2017.
Vega Magic won the Bletchingly Stakes at Caulfield last year then ran fourth in the Memsie Stakes before finishing with the tail-enders at his past three starts.
