The future of 2016 Caulfield Cup winner Jameka will be decided after the mare contests a barrier trial at Cranbourne in three weeks.
Jameka, above, is working towards another Spring Carnival campaign. Photo by Steve Hart.
Trainer Ciaron Maher spent the weekend in hospital recovering from surgery to repair a broken leg he sustained when he as dislodged from Jameka at trackwork last Friday morning, but he reported that the rising six year old mare was in fine shape as she continues on the comeback trail.
Maher has pencilled in a trial at Caulfield next Tuesday then an official trial at Cranbourne two weeks later which will be an important barometer which will help connections decide if another Spring Carnival campaign will be considered.
“She’ll trial on Tuesday at Caulfield and then, all going well, she’ll have an official trial at Cranbourne two weeks later,” Maher told RSN927’s Racing Pulse.
“After that we’ll probably make a decision if we go ahead from there.”
Jameka has proven herself to be one of the finest staying mares in the country with three Group 1 wins to her credit which include the 2015 $1m Crown Oaks (2500m) at Flemington, the 2016 $3m Caulfield Cup (2400m) at Caulfield and the 2017 $1.5m The BMW (2400m) at Rosehill.
Following her win in The BMW, Jameka suffered a bad bout of travel sickness and it was touch and go if she would pull through, but the mare has made a remarkable recovery and might get the chance to claim another Group 1 trophy during the 2018 Spring Carnival.
Maher said Jameka was feeling very well when he was riding her in slow exercise on Friday morning, but a sudden whip around by the mare left the prominent Caulfield trainer on the ground with a serious leg injury.
“She’s sometimes just a little bit horse shy and she’s starting to feel fresh and well at the moment,” Maher said.
“She’s due to jump out next week so she’s starting to feel good about herself.
“A horse walked across in front of us – which was sort of normal – but she overreacted and I had another horse beside me and she just whipped around and did a 180 (degree turn) in one stride and threw me down to the ground.
“It was quite a heavy fall actually. As soon as I hit the ground I thought ‘that doesn’t feel right’ and then I needed a bit of assistance to get up.
“I knew straight away that I’d done something to it and I was hoping I had dislocated it.
“Thankfully the surgery went well.”
Jameka is currently listed at $21 with Ladbrokes.com.au for the 2018 Group 1 $5m Caulfield Cup (2400m) run at Caulfield on October 20.
Jameka is the winner of of six of her twenty-four race starts and has amassed just over $4.8 million in prizemoney.
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