Veterinary x-rays after a canter exercise at Cranbourne have confirmed the scratching of hot favourite Big Sky from Victoria’s elite juvenile showdown.
Trained by Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr, the colt entered the week as the selection for Saturday’s Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m), only for Price to identify problems during the colt’s Friday canter at Cranbourne.
Big Sky had navigated Racing Victoria’s Thursday vet scrutiny successfully, matching the standard for the 20 acceptors.
Price’s assessment changed sharply soon after, prompted by the colt’s suboptimal performance.
“I had a little canter with him this morning and his action is not what it should be,” Price told SENTrack.
“We know by looking at the data, on Tuesday morning his stride was a little shorter than it should be, but I was looking more at knees this morning and we have had them x-rayed.
“There’s a little bit of immaturity near front, off-front, there’s enough there to say I need a second opinion of what’s going on with that knee.
“We think we can see a small little flake of bone in there.
“I’m not sure we need to do, but what I do know is that horse will not be running on Saturday and will be going to the paddock.”
No distinction is made in Price’s yard between high-stakes Group 1 two-year-old races and routine mile maidens—all get equal care.
“I wouldn’t ask any horse to do anything I wasn’t 100 per cent happy with, especially a two-year-old baby,” Price said.
“He’s very talented, he might be a Group 1 horse as a three-year-old.
“Regardless of anything in the future, he will not run tomorrow, and the information is ‘black and white’.
“It is disappointing, but it would be disappointment times ten if I was to run him and get a poor result, number one, and to see him pull-up poorly number two.
“He’s a young horse and we need to look after him.”
The new order in betting sees Big Sky’s fellow stable runner Guest House at $4.60, tailed by Unit Five ($5.50) and Closer To Free ($6.50).
Racing Victoria vets post-checks rejected the Ben, Will and J D Hayes-trained filly Torture, clearing Tony and Calvin McEvoy’s Tough Romance instead.
First reserve Stretan Ruler, handled by Phillip Stokes, was pulled on Thursday for a shot at the Group 2 Silver Slipper Stakes (1100m) in Rosehill on Saturday.
Find the top racing odds on sports betting platforms ahead of the Blue Diamond Stakes.
