Reigning Cairns Cup winner facing a long spell on the sidelines
MAREEBA trainer Alex Malliff’s hopes of claiming back-to-back Cairns Cup victories with champion stayer Paniagua have been dashed.
Malliff announced the four-yearold bush racing sensation will not feature in this year’s upcoming carnivals and was facing a long spell in the paddock after sustaining an injury in his return to racing at Mareeba last month.
“He didn’t pull up very well at all actually,” Malliff said. “He’s done an LCL (lateral collateral ligament), so he’s back in the paddock.
“It’s very disappointing but it’s not the end of his career, it’s just time in the paddock.
“Unfortunately with these types of injuries the healing time varies greatly. It could be three months, it could be 12 months, it’s just a waitand-see type thing.”
Malliff said Paniagua showed plenty of promise in his first-up second in the Laura Cup (1500m), which was run at Mareeba this year.
“I think he’s done it after he pulled up from the race,” he said.
“The jockey reported that he was just a little bit tender on the trot back in his offside front leg, so we had the vet inspect him and he wasn’t too concerned.
“But, being a bit cautious, (wife) Kelly and I decided to have him scanned anyway and it showed a small keyhole tear in the LCL.
“He’s a couple of weeks away from undergoing some laser treatment and then when we bring him back we’ll probably just have to change the way we train him a bit.
“There’ll be more swimming and less work under saddle, I’d imagine.”
Paniagua captured the attention of the Queensland racing industry last year, winning eight straight races, including the Cairns Cup and the Country Cups Challenge Final at Doomben in December.
“I had big plans for him,” Malliff said. “I sort of set my year around him – but that’s racing.”