The Christmas present, as Bruce Wyborn puts it, is back under the tree again.
But the 57-year-old is hoping the harness racing world will once again get to see the brilliance of his trotting superstar, Susan Is Her Name.
Wyborn provided thetrots.com.au with an update on the injured mare, who he says suffered a central tarsal bone fracture while winning last month’s Group 1 Macarthur Mile at Menangle.
The owner-breeder said Susan Is Her Name spent a few days at the Ballarat Veterinary Clinic in late May for tests on her troublesome leg, and it was then discovered she had sustained a significant injury.
Wyborn remains unsure if the five-year-old will require surgery, but hopes to find out more in discussions with trainer Emma Stewart in the coming days.
Either way, Susan Is Her Name will require a few months of box rest before she is to resume light work.
“The vet said that it wasn’t the end if the fracture was displaced, but if it’s just a fracture then it’s only a time thing and she’ll probably make a full recovery,” Wyborn said.
“The vet’s opinion was that she’d nearly done the other leg as well. There was a really deep shadow on the other back leg.
“It’s just putting the Christmas present away and we will try to get it out again.”
Wyborn, who is based in Queensland, had been looking forward to Susan Is Her Name competing in the upcoming Inter Dominion Trotting Championship at Albion Park.
She was one of the major fancies for the series after her win in the Macarthur Mile, where she inflicted Keayang Zahara’s first career defeat at start 16.
“Hardly any of the family have ever gone to see her and it would have been good to invite them all to Albion Park,” he said.
“There is so much support for me in Queensland - it’s just unbelievable. When they found out she went amiss, everybody came up to me and said ‘bad luck’.”
Susan Is Her Name has won 11 of 17 career starts for just over $218,000 in prizemoney.