Symphony in tune for an earlier return
TONY McEvoy could still target a few back- end spring carnival races and potentially the Perth carnival for his luckless colt Royal Symphony, who is still recovering from a suspensory ligament injury suffered late last year.
While it was thought Royal Symphony might not race again until next autumn, McEvoy is hopeful he can get the horse back to the races in mid- to- late November, if everything goes to plan in what has been a carefullyplanned recovery program.
“He is amazing,” McEvoy said this week. “It has just healed slowly, but he is going to come back a perfectly sound horse.
“We are going to miss the main part of the spring, but you might see him run at some stage in November.
“It’s possible ( that it would be the Sandown carnival), he could get there and then we have got Perth if we want to go there.
“We have got to get the leg right first, and that’s what we are trying to do.”
Royal Symphony was one of the hardluck stories of last spring, having had misfortune when fourth in the Caulfield Guineas, then he ran a game fourth in the Cox Plate after having a torrid run in transit.
Happy Clapper’s jockey Damien Oliver was later suspended for 20 meetings for causing interference to McEvoy’s colt.
McEvoy said his star twoyear- old fillies — Magic Millions winner Sunlight and the nation’s best credentialed maiden Oohood ( who both ran third and second in the Golden Slipper respectively) — were “just back into their prep” and likely take different pathways.
“My thought process is that Oohood might go to Sydney and Sunlight might stay in Melbourne,” he said.
Oohood could be set for the Golden Rose or Flight Stakes.