Tosen Stardom sent for spell after frustrating autumn campaign
AFTER a luckless autumn campaign, the Darren Weir-trained Tosen Stardom is headed for a spell.
The decision to put the star Japanese import on ice comes on the back of an incredible run of misfortune across the last 12 months, culminating in a winless streak this campaign.
The horse was nosed out by Black Heart Bart in the Group One Futurity Stakes at Caulfield in February before being blown away by Palentino in the Blamey Stakes at Flemington as a short-priced favourite less than a month later.
The horse was also set to run in last week’s Doncaster Mile, but after drawing a wide gate, compounded by a heavy 10 rating, the team elected not to run it in the group one race.
While a return date is not yet set, Tosen Stardom is the +600 joint favourite at Ladbrokes.com.au alongside Doncaster Mile winner It’s Somewhat for May’s Group One Doomben 10,000.
The news caps of a disappointing 12 months for the horse that missed The Championships last year after copping a three-month ban for bleeding from both nostrils.
The highly-credentialed Japanese import has yet to miss the first four since coming to Australia, but has failed to register a win.
It was expected that the six-year-old would be among the nominations for Saturday’s Group One All Aged Stakes at Randwick, but co-owner Jamie Lovett said the team elected to bypass the Sydney meet in order to get the horse right.
“Tosen will go to the paddock. We’re just not happy with him. He’s not spot on. We think a fair bit of him, and we’re not prepared to risk him,” Lovett said on Monday.
“We’d rather just back off, he’s had an interrupted prep again.”
Whilst not ruling out a winter campaign in Brisbane, Lovett said it is more than likely the horse will be spelled until the spring.
“Talking to Weiry at the sales last week, rather than rushing and getting him to Brisbane, we might back off and get him ready for the spring.”
After missing out on the Doncaster Mile following unfavourable barrier draw, trainer Darren Weir stated that the target could be the Brisbane Winter Carnival.
“I’ve got no idea if he’ll handle a wet track but the combination of that, plus the wide gate, makes me think we’d be better off staying at home and maybe thinking about Brisbane in winter,” Weir said.