Golden Slipper winner Estijaab is injured and won’t be seen during the 2018 Spring Racing Carnival.
Golden Slipper winner Estijaab, above, is out of the 22018 Spring Carnival. Photo by Steve Hart.
Team Hawkes’ head trainer John Hawkes was forced to send Estijaab back to the paddock after suffering a setback and the stable is hoping to have the Snitzel filly back in action for the 2019 Autumn Carnival.
“Estijaab has got a problem and is out until the autumn,’’ Hawkes told The Daily Telegraph.
“We are taking no risks with her, she’s too valuable a filly, so she will go back out for a spell.’’
“I’m confident she will be fine and we will get her back in the autumn.”
Estijaab was the star two year old during the 2018 Sydney Autumn Carnival with three wins from four starts which included an all the way win in the Group 1 $3.5m Longines Golden Slipper (1200m) at Rosehill on March 24.
The new season three year old filly was well into her Spring Carnival preparation and the Hawkes Racing Team of John, Michael and Wayne Hawkes were happy with her recent fifth in a 900m barrier trial at Rosehill on August 7.
“She went really good. She was just out to stretch her legs this morning. She had a nice easy trial,” Michael Hawkes told Sky Racing.
“She jumped and went straight to the front and in the straight she went really really good and we are very happy.”
“She hit line solid while a lot of others went past her on the outside.”
“But really today was about getting her fitness levels up just to see if she had come back in great form which we think she has.”
Estijaab will miss the chance to add a Spring Carnival Group 1 win to her record and will miss running in the Group 1 $1m De Bortoli Wines Golden Rose Stakes (1400m) at Rosehill on September 22 and in the Group 1 $500,000 Schweppes Thousand Guineas (1600m) at Caulfield on October 13.
Estijaab is the winner of three of her four race starts and has a tick over $2.3 million in the bank.
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