Sydney horseman David Vandyke went from the high of saddling up a deserving Queensland Oaks favourite, to a great low believing he would have to put down top filly Arabian Gold after she pulled up lame following her weekend run.
Beaten Queensland Oaks favourite Arabian Gold pulled up lame after her loss on the weekend. Photo: Race Horse Photos Australia.
The daughter of Dubawi jumped short priced favourite for last Saturday’s $400,000 Group 1 Queensland Oaks (2400m) at Eagle Farm after winning her three lead-up races including the Group 2 The Roses (2000m) at Doomben.
She fought hard but could only manage to finish one and a half lengths away second to The Roses runner-up Tinto who turned the tables on her last start conqueror.
After the race though it was immediately evident something was wrong with the beaten favourite, Arabian Gold pulling up with a 5/5 lameness.
Vandyke believes she was galloped on during the Oaks run and faced a distressing 24-hours post-race as the initial thoughts of the vet treating her were of a life-threatening broken pelvis.
“The vet on track thought she’d injured her pelvis badly but it turned out to be a very badly bruised foot,” Vandyke told Racenet.com.au.
“You should’ve seen her.
“She was sweating, shaking and was stuck against the wall.
“She wouldn’t even move to go to the toilet as she couldn’t put the foot on the ground. I thought we were going to have to put her down.”
Much to the Warwick Farm-based Vandyke’s relief however Arabian Gold’s injured foot was able to be treated almost instantly giving the horse some movement.
“We then got her x-rayed and it came back clear,” he said.
“There’s a fair amount of heat but at least we know she’ll be ok in the long run.”
While she’ll be out recovering for a while now, there is a chance of a late spring return from Arabian Gold.
Vandyke also said that even with the injury he was thrilled with his filly’s performance, but didn’t think that it affected the Queensland Oaks result in the end.
“People might think she would’ve won the race had she not incurred this injury but these top line horses just run through pain and in my experience it doesn’t affect the outcome,” he said.
The next major three-year-olds’ race of the Brisbane Winter Racing Carnival happens back at Eagle Farm this weekend with the $500,000 Group 1 Queensland Derby (2400m) running as part of Stradbroke Handicap Day.
The best performing filly coming out of the Oaks that will back-up in the Derby is the Tony Pike-trained Rock Diva, currently paying $11 to improve on her fourth last weekend and beat home the boys.
To get in on the Queensland Derby 2014 betting markets visit Ladbrokes.com.au and bet with confidence knowing you’re locking in the best possible prices on your selections.
