Rosehill Guineas winner Laser Hawk will miss the Spring Carnival after undergoing surgery to remove a bone chip yesterday.

The talented gelding pulled up lame on Sunday following a third-place effort to Ethiopia in the Group 1 Australian Derby at Randwick the day before.

Laser Hawk will be out for 6 months after surgery to remove a bone chip - photo (c) Steve Hart

Andrew Baddock, racing manager of Laser Hawks’s owners Gooree Pastoral Company, said the news was very disappointing for the horse that has shown plenty of promise in his young career.

“The vets are saying give him four to six months out and the prognosis is good so we’ll err on the side of caution and give him a six month break,” Baddock said.

“There wasn’t that much damage done to the cartilage and the joint so it’s just a time factor now.”

Despite the projected six month absence from the sport, Baddock is confident Laser Hawk will bounce back from the surgery and continue his racing career.

“We’ve had nearly 100 percent success with surgeries from REC [Randwick Equine Centre] to go onto future racing so we’re positive about his future.”

Trained by first lady of racing Gai Waterhouse, Laser Hawk has had a highly successful career to date, winning four of six starts and finishing a worst of third.

The gifted three-year-old burst on to the scene last spring with consecutive victories and began 2012 in the same vain of form with a win at Rosehil before running third to Mosheen in the Randwick Guineas.

He then beat Ocean Park and Silent Achiever in the Group 1 Rosehill Guineas before Saturday’s third-place effort in the Australian Derby.

Waterhouse is busy preparing for Saturday’s prestigious Doncaster Mile where she has three horses in the final field with glamour mare More Joyous, promising colt Niagara and Doncaster Prelude winner Fast Clip.

The Doncaster Mile is the feature event at Randwick this Saturday and has a prize pool of $2 million.