Bone bruising has kept Scissor Kick away from the races for over eight months, but trainer Paul Messara is hopeful that the talented entire will be able to return to the races in the 2016 Futurity Stakes at Caulfield on February 27.
Scissor Kick defeated Delectation to take out the 2015 edition of the Eskimo Prince Stakes. Photo by: Steve Hart
Scissor Kick pulled up with significant bone bruising after he finished a disappointing 12th in the Group 1 Doomben 10,000 (1350m) at Doomben on May 23 and Messara was forced to give the son of Redoute’s Choice a lengthy stint in the spelling paddock.
Messara and his team have had to patiently build nurse Scissor Kick back to full fitness, but he now believes that the four-year-old is close to a return to the races and could make his resumption in the Group 1 Futurity Stakes (1400m).
“He came out of that race very poorly, he jarred up very badly and had on-going bone bruising and pain,” Messara said.
“We just had to give him a decent break.
“We gave him a good couple of months off to get him back to a 100 percent and happy, so we have gone through that whole process of working on his bone destiny and making sure he is 110% before he resumes proper training.
“That is where we are at now and he is back, but I would say that he is around three or four weeks away from possibly looking at a race.
“The Futurity is what we had in the back of our mind and we will see if he gets there, but that is the plan.”
Scissor Kick has raced exclusively at black-type level since he took out the 2014 edition of the Listed The Rosebud (1200m) and he has won the Group 3 Up And Coming Stakes (1300m) and Group 3 Eskimo Prince Stakes (1200m), but he is still chasing a maiden win at the highest level of racing.
Messara is confident that Scissor Kick has taken no long-term harm from his injury lay-off and he believes that the stallion prospect is capable of claiming the Group 1 victory that would make him a very valuable horse.
“He is a lovely horse and you would struggle to find a better looking horse,” Messara said.
“He is in great condition, the team down at Mornington have done a fantastic job and the horse looks great.
“He is a top class horse, there is no doubt.
“He is a Group 1 horse and we just have to put that G1 next to his name.
“Ability doesn’t go away and it is just a matter of getting him back and I am sure we will see the best of him on the track.”
Messara is chasing his first Group 1 victory in Australia since Ortensia took out the 2011 edition of the Winterbottom Stakes (1200m).
