Troy Leggett (Race Images Palmerston North)
Last year’s Gr.1 Auckland Cup (3200m) winner Ladies First has suffered a set-back that will see her autumn campaign shelved.
The Allan Sharrock-trained mare had been on a path to the Gr.1 Sydney Cup (3200m) but pulled up sore after finishing tenth in the Gr.1 Haunui Farm WFA Group One Classic (1600m).
“It’s a minor strain in a tendon, so she will probably have three months to get over it,” Sharrock said.
“With three months off, she will be fine.
“She had come up really, really well and I was quite excited.
“Her run at Otaki was probably a little bit bemusing. It was a pass, but it wasn’t what I wanted. Then on Sunday she was sore and I thought it might have been a stone bruise but it turns out it was a slight tear in the tendon.”
Ladies First has won nine of her 24 starts to date including three at stakes level.