MARK Kavanagh said yesterday that Atlantic Jewel was not being rushed in her comeback preparation, so a Melbourne autumn program is off the agenda for the unbeaten filly, reports Andrew Eddy in The Age. His report adds: The trainer will have talks this week with the filly's owner, Coolmore Stud, about her future but stressed that he had not yet set a date for her return to the track. ''It's up to her and at the moment I'm happy with the way she's coming along but she's not going to be rushed. We
MARK Kavanagh said yesterday that Atlantic Jewel was not being rushed in her comeback preparation, so a Melbourne autumn program is off the agenda for the unbeaten filly, reports Andrew Eddy in The Age.
His report adds: The trainer will have talks this week with the filly's owner, Coolmore Stud, about her future but stressed that he had not yet set a date for her return to the track.
''It's up to her and at the moment I'm happy with the way she's coming along but she's not going to be rushed. We'll just wait and see,'' Kavanagh said.
Atlantic Jewel's five effortless wins last spring earned her the title of the world's leading three-year-old filly over a middle-distance, but her run was halted before the VRC Oaks, for which she was odds-on favourite. Hot spots were found in her back and she was sent for a spell. Atlantic Jewel has been back at Kavanagh's stable for the past two weeks but may not be ready to race until April. Saturday's group 1 Australian Guineas at Flemington would probably have been a cakewalk for Atlantic Jewel, but her absence has opened the way for a rare Guineas double for favourite Helmet.
The Australian Guineas was first run in 1986 and only Mahogany (1993/94) has been able to win the race after taking the Caulfield Guineas the previous spring.
Darley Australia's chief executive, Henry Plumptre, said on Saturday that he believed the three-time group 1-winning colt could do what his stablemate Sepoy narrowly failed to do by ending his Australian racing career with a win.