Chicago Bull and Gary Hall junior in one of the best of their 40 wins.
Chicago Bull shock withdrawal from New Zealand Cup after freak accident
By Barry Lichter • 30 October 2018
Perth pacer Chicago Bull is out of the New Zealand Trotting Cup after a freak accident and he will be sidelined for at least four months.
Gary Hall junior told www.lincolnfarms.co.nz Chicago Bull has fractured bones in his wither and will have to be boxed for at least two months.
Hall is still coming to terms with the terrible diagnosis, made only an hour ago after X-rays at a Cambridge veterinary clinic revealed the damage.
The horse was undergoing routine treatment with fluids and electrolytes after his stunning win at Alexandra Park last Friday night when he had an anaphylactic reaction.
“He panicked and went flying back, flipped and landed on his wither. He’s had the treatment heaps of times and my vet back home says it’s just a one-in-a-million chance.
“He was in a bad way for an hour but then started walking and things looked all good.
‘‘I even jogged him on Sunday and Monday and everything seemed all right.
‘‘But when I checked him in the afternoons he wasn’t great. He looked uncomfortable walking.
“Even then we thought it was not that bad, just muscle soreness and stiffness.
“But when we treated him with anti-inflammatories and he didn’t get any better we decided to take him for X-rays today.
“We still didn’t have any real concerns but the X-rays showed he’s fractured all six bones in his wither. The long term prognosis is pretty good though and they say he should make a full recovery.
“They reckon he’ll get over it in four months but he’ll have to be boxed for the first half of that.
“It’s just one of those things. I’ve been in this game long enough to know it’s not the first time something like this has happened.
“We’re still not home from the vet yet and I feel like I just want to go to bed and try to put it out of my mind.’’
Hall says it’s particularly hard to take being so far from home in Western Australia.
It was too soon to even think about when he might be able to transport Chicago Bull home but he would need time to recover here first.
TAB bookmakers reacted immediately promoting Ultimate Machete to $3.60 favourite for the November 13 feature with Australian Tiger Tara second fancy at $3.90.
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Ray’s comments
Friday night at Cambridge
Race 5: Sammy Lincoln
6.45pm
“You can’t hold that last race against him and he probably needed the run too as it was his first for a couple of months. Ability-wise he’s very good and on paper he should win. If he turns up, he’s the one to beat for sure.”
Race 6: Colonel Lincoln
7.20pm
“He got hooked up last week in that melee down the back straight and once you lose that momentum it’s hard, particularly when you’re get back in the field. He’ll go an honest race but he really needs to lose a point or two so he can get a better draw or an easier field.”
Race 9: Leo Lincoln
9.07pm
“He was closing on the winner last week, even though American Me had already switched off. There are no American Mes this week and you can guarantee he’ll be in it. He’ll go better the Cambridge way round - he handle the corners a lot better.”
Race 9: Ultimate Cullect
9.07pm
“I thought she went quite a good race last week and her driver Tony Cameron also said she went well and tried hard. She lacks a yard of speed - when they accelerate she flounders a bit - but she winds up and whacks away.”
