Trainer James Peters is hoping Noble Liaison can put behind his ligament issues and get back on track as he returns to racing this Sunday.
The Darci Brahma five-year-old has not been sighted since his closing second to Splice in a Class 4 race over 1400m on February 12.
Prior to that last run (his sixth), Noble Liaison had been on an upward spiral since his two wins recorded last year, including one on debut.
But then trouble struck, leaving Peters with no other choice but to give the Lim’s & Mark’s Stable-owned gelding a break.
“He had a setback early in the year, mainly ligament treatment,” said the English handler.
“He’s a nice horse with a good turn of foot. The 1200m is a bit on the short side as he can get further but it’s a nice race to start him off.
“He was probably unlucky at his last two starts when he ran second. At his trials, he showed he had come back in good order.
“He’s meeting a strong field, anyway, and he’s also the top weight (58kgs), but from the way he’s trialled (two easy hit-outs under Peters’ apprentice jockey Pregasam Dellorto), I think he should run well first-up.”
Noble Liaison is resuming in Sunday’s penultimate race, the $60,000 Top Spin 2008 Stakes, a Class 4 Division 1 race over 1200m.
With regular partner Danny Beasley having hung up his boots to become a stable supervisor for trainer Daniel Meagher, Peters had to look elsewhere for a new rider and has booked one weekend-visiting jockey Daniel Moor on Noble Liaison. -STC