One of Australia’s best pacers Bay Of Biscay has been sidelined by injury and will miss a string of major targets, starting with the Group 1 Victoria Cup on October 17.
But connections are committed to trying to get the exciting stallion prospect back to racing to target next year’s Brisbane Inter Dominion series in July.
The disappointing news comes as Bay Of Biscay was back in work following a sixth in last month’s Brisbane Inter Dominion final behind Captains Mistress.
“I want to stress this is very much a precautionary move,” part-owner Russell Maisner said. “Alabar (Farms), who part owns the horse, wanted him to have a bone scan with a view to his future stallion career and it revealed a couple of hot spots.
“There was no soreness, Emma (Stewart) and Clayton (Tonkin) saw nothing of concern with the horse, so we were surprised by what the scan revealed.
“The recommendation from the vet was to give the horse three to four months rest and we’ll err on the side of safety and make it four.
“It means we’ll miss all the summer features and even the Nullarbor, which we thought loomed as a really good option for the horse.
“Clearly it’s disappointing news, but the welfare of the horse is paramount.”
Maisner said despite Bay Of Biscay’s value as a stallion, it was unanimous amongst his ownership to try and get him back racing next year.
“We’ll get him scanned again after the four months and reassess from there,” he said.
Bay Of Biscay has been an exciting talent since bursting onto the scene as a two-year-old.
His three-year-old career was as much about his near misses as minor placings in major races.
But last season Bay Of Biscay arrived in style with wins in the world’s richest pacing race, the TAB Eureka, and the Group 1 Chariots Of Fire. He banked almost $1.2 million for the season.
A hoof issue denied his chance to chase races like the Hunter Cup and Miracle Mile earlier this year, but he raced eight times for two wins, including an Inter Dominion, heat and three placings.
“He showed winning that heat and his huge run from an awful draw in the (Inter Dominion) final that he could be competitive with the best with the right draw and luck in running,” Maisner said.
“We felt he now had the grounding to take on a lot of the big races over next 12 months, but now we have to adjust and hope we can get him back and firing for the Inter Dominion next year.”
Bay Of Biscay, by the late and great Somebeachsomewhere out of Nike Franco, sold for an equal sale-topping $150,000 at the 2022 Nutrien Sydney sale.
The five-year-old has raced just 35 times for 14 wins, eight seconds, four thirds and banked $1,903,555.
PHOTO: Club Menangle/Pacepix
