Racing Odds: Crackerjack King Hits The Melbourne Spring At Last
August 14th, 2014 by Pom de TurfCrackerjack King is a well-travelled horse. He’s an Australian Thoroughbred Bloodstock horse these days, and based in Australia, but collected wins and placing in Italy, the UK and the US before he came to Australia ahead of last year’s Spring Season. He was all set to make an appearance in the Racing odds for last year’s Melbourne Spring, too, but tendon trouble put paid to the whole campaign, and his hopes of a big result in 2013 were dashed.
He’s back to trialling now, though, and trainer David Hayes sounds like he’s pleased with the results of the long-term rehabilitation programme Crackerjack King has been following, and ready to aim him at the Melbourne Spring Season at last, a year later than hoped. Hayes has been taking a very long-term view with Crackerjack King in terms of getting him to full fitness, and he’ll be hoping that he repay him in 2014: ‘we got him to train for last spring but the tendon wasn’t ready to be pushed when I got him. We have consulted the top human tendon man and used the human theories on tendons. Human tendons recover very well and they don’t stop people moving when they have tendon injuries.’
We didn’t know that, we have to say, but we’re prepared to believe Hayes, especially if he’s managed to get Crackerjack King back to the sort of form that he showed before the injury – the sort of form that led to him being purchased and brought to Australia with the Melbourne Spring in mind. But it sounds as though it likely won’t be the Melbourne Cup or the Caulfield Cup that will be the target for Crackerjack King: ‘I think he’s probably too brilliant for the Cups, he’s more of a Cox Plate horse. He’s got plenty of gas,’ says Hayes. ‘The Cox Plate, with his tendon issues, is probably easier to train him for.’
So look out for Crackerjack King in the odds for the Cox Plate in 2014 – it might be a year later than intended, but that will make it all the sweeter if he can put in a performance for Hayes and Australian Thoroughbred Bloodstock…
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