Ciaron Maher’s boom filly Srikandi is off to the spelling paddock and will be a giant omission from the field for the Group 1 $500,000 Sky Racing Tattersall’s Tiara (1400m) to be run at Eagle Farm on Saturday.
Srikandi not to run in the Tattersall's Tiara and will be sent to the paddock. Photo by Daniel Costello.
Srikandi has been the find of the Brisbane Winter Carnival and Maher was keen to give her one more run before sending her for a well-deserved break.
But after initially pulling up well after an early morning gallop at Eagle Farm with Glen Boss, the filly was showing some signs of soreness in her heels and Maher immediately made plans to send her out before preparing for the Spring.
“She pulled up sore after she cooled down and Ciaron decided she had done enough this preparation and will give her a lengthy spell,” Maher’s racing manager Ben Connolly told Racenet.
“There are no dramas with her but she has done a great job and we’ll wait for her next campaign.”
Boss, who has been Srikandi’s regular ridder throughout her Winter Carnival campaign, made a special trip from Melbourne to partner the Dubawi filly this morning and was pleased with the way she felt on the track.
Maher was also happy with her work and indicated that she would run on Saturday but had to change his mind once she cooled down.
“She seems fine, at this stage we will be accepting and see how she pulls up,” Maher said after her 1000m gallop before he discovered the soreness in her heels.
Srikandi exceeded all of Maher’s expectations with her Winter Carnival performances which saw her sent out as the $6 favourite before running third to River Lad in the Group 1 $1.36m AAMI Stradbroke Handicap (1400m) at Eagle Farm on June 7.
The much improved filly was undefeated from her three previous Winter Carnival starts which included wins in the Listed $150,000 Turangga Farm Silk Stocking (1200m) at the Gold Coast on May 3, the Listed $100,000 Designline Graphics Juanmo Stakes (1200m) at Doomben on May 17 and the Group 3 $150,000 Glenlogan Park Stakes (1350m) at Doomben on May 24.
Srikandi would have been the nominal favourite for the Tattersall’s Tiara and her withdrawal has opened up the way for Red Tracer, Catkins, Steps In Time, Cosmic Endeavour and Driefontein to fight it out for the top spot in the market order for the final Group 1 race of the season.
The Chris Waller trained Red Tracer will go into Saturday’s race after finishing tenth in the Stradbroke Handicap while stablemate Catkins hasn’t had a run since finishing sixth to Diamond Drille in the Group 1 $1m Cellarbrations Queen Of The Turf Stakes (1600m) at Randwick on April 19.
The grey mare was due to step out in the Group 2 $200,000 VIRBAC Animal Health Dane Ripper Stakes (1400m) at Eagle Farm on June 7 but had to be scratched after sustaining a slight leg injury in the stable.
Cosmic Endeavour and Driefontein from the Gai Waterhouse stable are both in good form after finishing first and second in the Dane Ripper Stakes while Steps In Time has been tuned up with a 800m Warwick Farm barrier trial win in June 13.
