Catalyst’s spring campaign is over, but trainer Clayton Chipperfield admits he breathed a sigh of relief when hearing the result of Monday morning’s Sydney veterinary inspection on his stable star.
Catalyst is booked to return to New Zealand on Sunday for a three-month spell after he tailed the field home when resuming in the Gr. 2 Shorts (1100m) at Randwick last Saturday.
A post-race veterinary examination on raceday revealed Catalyst to be 2/5 lame in his off-foreleg and Chipperfield, who wasn’t able to be in Sydney because of the COVID-19 pandemic’s travel requirements, feared a worse result for the Gr.1 New Zealand 2000 Guineas (1600m) winner.
“I was thinking he might need surgery and that could open up a lot of other problems and see him off the scene for a long time,” Chipperfield said.
“Fortunately he just needs a three-month spell and the vet says he should be good to go again.
“The vet examined him this morning (Monday) and the x-ray showed there is a lot of movement around his fetlocks. It’s a maturity thing and he’s still growing.
