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| Staff Writer |
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Trainer William Haggas is eager to keep all options open for his St Leger third, as Desert Hero prepares to begin the vetting procedure for the Lexus Melbourne Cup.
On Saturday at Doncaster, Continuous won the race by just over three lengths, beating The Sea The Stars colt who is owned by the King and Queen. The colt is currently a 12-1 shot for the Flemington feature on November 7.
For the two-mile contest, Racing Victoria requires international runners to go through a series of veterinary checks before being allowed to run. Haggas plans to start the process with Desert Hero, but it does not guarantee that the horse will make the trip.
He told the Nick Luck Daily Podcast, “We want to leave all options open, so the horse will go through his veterinary tests.
“I think we start tonight and then we’ve a couple of days (of) MRIs, tomorrow and Wednesday, so we will get those completed. That doesn’t mean he’s going, but the weights come out tomorrow and then we can collate all the information. Who knows, the veterinary protocols might rule him out anyway, so we will see what happens.”
The King and Queen attended the Town Moor track to witness an impressive display from Desert Hero, who showed great courage despite coming up short. The crowd warmly applauded the horse's valiant effort.
Haggas added, “It was a fabulous day – there was a huge crowd, very enthusiastic. I don’t think anyone really believed the King and the Queen would come, so the fact that they did was terrific.
“They weren’t there for very long, but it was great that they came.”
The King and Queen took over the racing interests of the deceased Queen, and they tasted success at Royal Ascot when their horse, Desert Hero, won the King George V Stakes in June.
Asked if he thought the King was enjoying his racing experience so far, Haggas said, “It appears that way and that’s fantastic because he’s very keen, but obviously it’s been his mother’s baby for as long as we’ve been alive and he didn’t get involved until sadly she left us.
“He’s been full on since and I think he’s enjoying it – I hope he is anyway.
“There was a bit of nervous tension on Saturday, as you can imagine – excitement, but there was a little bit of nerves. We’d spoken about the horse and everyone knew the situation, we were just all hoping for the best.”