In-form pacer Yambukian will miss the feature racing season in Victoria due to injury.
Disappointed trainer Andy Gath said the seven-year-old had damaged “nine per cent” of a suspensory, and while the timeframe for rehabilitation wasn’t exactly clear, he expected the 21-time winner to be away from the races for at least the next six months.
Yambukian was entered to race at Melton on Saturday night, but was scratched from the $50,000 Group 3 VHRC Caduceus Classic.
“We got onto it early. We noticed the swelling and he’s not lame on it or anything, but there’s a tear there,” Gath said. “It’s a long road back as we know and you can’t rush these things. It all takes time.
“It’s at the lower end of the scale, and while no soft tissue injury is great, if you’re rating it out of 10 in terms of how bad it is, it’s probably a two.”
Yambukian is the older brother of megastar stablemate Catch A Wave and has started to emerge from his shadow in season 2025 with a string of impressive wins at Melton Entertainment Park.
The son of Bettors Delight has won seven races at Victorian harness racing headquarters this year, including a stunning stretch of five-straight through May, June and July.
Yambukian’s golden run of form has taken his career record to 21 wins from 70 starts with more than $300,000 in prizemoney.
