GOING IN TO BAT
COAST RACING PLANS
TRAINER Ben Ahrens will aim to have a second crack at the Bat Out Of Hell sprint with Destiva after the horse’s return to winning form on the Gold Coast.
Destiva won the Class 5 Handicap (900m) first-up at Aquis Park on Saturday four months after Ahrens had to cut his last preparation short due to foot problems.
“He seems to be back to his old self,” Ahrens said.
“We just had a torrid last campaign with him with foot problems that we couldn’t get on top of it.
“In the end we couldn’t get him right so we had to put him back out and do a fair bit of work on his feet while he was in the paddock.”
Destiva first encountered the foot problems a few months leading into his last preparation and Ahrens pulled the pin after three difficult starts.
It added to a tough career for the seven-year-old who had a year out of racing due to a lung abscess.
Ahrens said he believed Destiva showed the form that secured him two wins at the start of last year leading into the 2017 Bat Out Of Hell (900m) where he ran well to place third behind Prompt Return and Hidden Pearl.
Now he wants another shot at the short-course title at the Gold Coast track on May 5.
“Thankfully it looks like our work has paid off,” Beaudesert-based Ahrens said.
“He has come back as good as his previous preparation when he ran well in the Bat Out Of Hell.
“It’s good to have him back. Because of the foot we don’t pressure him too much in his work so it’s hard to get a guide on where he is at.”