Australian champion Scenic Blast is recovering from a torrid run in the Sprinters' Stakes in Japan and plans are still in place for him to go to the Hong Kong International meeting in December.Scenic Blast struck trouble at the 500m of Sunday's Group One race at Nakayama and came in last of the 16 runners in a distressed state.He was subsequently found to be suffering from the "thumps", a condition similar to hiccups in humans and usually caused by electrolyte imbalance and fluid loss after a st

Australian champion Scenic Blast is recovering from a torrid run in the Sprinters' Stakes in Japan and plans are still in place for him to go to the Hong Kong International meeting in December.

Scenic Blast struck trouble at the 500m of Sunday's Group One race at Nakayama and came in last of the 16 runners in a distressed state.

He was subsequently found to be suffering from the "thumps", a condition similar to hiccups in humans and usually caused by electrolyte imbalance and fluid loss after a strenuous workout.

Trainer Dan Morton said Scenic Blast was put on an intravenous drip overnight and appeared well.

Morton said the mid-race incident which put the horse out of contention was a bitter blow after his build-up.

"I was really comfortable with the position he was in," Morton said on Sydney's Sky Sports Radio.

"It panned out as I thought it would in running - I knew they would go quick and I thought if he could just be back off the speed a little, I knew he'd finish off well.

"Obviously though with an incident like that in a sprint race it's pretty hard to come off the canvas.

"The thumps is not such a common thing and something else we had to deal with.

"He was on an intravenous drip for a few hours after the race and he had recovered and was fine this morning.

"To come all this way..it's very disappointing for the connections."

Whether he gets to the International Sprint or not, Scenic Blast will be going to Hong Kong due to the quarantine restrictions in place.

"The quarantine rules us out of coming home," Morton said.

"Ideally I'd put him on a plane and come home and leave him alone for a while.

"But we've only go two options for him - to go back to England and put him in a paddock or take him to Hong Kong.

"So we will stay in Japan for two weeks then go to Hong Kong for the sprint race in mid-December."

Scenic Blast won the Lightning Stakes and Newmarket Handicap during the Melbourne autumn and claimed the King's Stand at Royal Ascot in June.

At the end of the season he was named Australian Racehorse of the Year as well as the champion sprinter and champion international performer.