by Chris Barsby
He’s back!
Triple Queensland Horse of the Year Avonnova is out of his short lived retirement and is set to grace a racetrack again.
On December 17, almost three months ago, harness racing fans bid farewell to the free-legged warrior following his crushing victory in the Gr.2 $50,000 Gold Coast Cup at Albion Park in near track record time.
The onetime claimer was radically transformed under the leadership of Ian Gurney and became a cult figure in his adopted Sunshine State for many seasons.
Now, he’s set to make a return.
“He didn’t cope well with retirement and couldn’t make the transition from stable life to paddock life, he would free leg up and down the paddock fence on the inside of my track and try and work with the horses on the track and would always be singing out and stand at his gate.” Gurney said.
And the return is imminent.
Gurney is toying with either giving him a trial on Friday or next Tuesday, both trials sessions are programmed for Albion Park.
“As soon as I started working him he settled so he obviously just missed being one of the boys and going through his normal routine. I suppose it’s like a professional athlete failing to come to terms that retirement is permanent and they know nothing else.
“His workload has gradually been built up over the last month and he’s now fit enough to go to the trials, he never really lost his base foundation of fitness so it hasn’t taken long for him to come up again. He’s worked well with the likes of Mach Alert and Ideal Scott recently.”
Gurney stepped out Mach Alert yesterday (Tuesday) in a 1660m trial and scored comfortably in a time of 1:54.8.
The return of the Gurney open class performers is a timely boost for the local free-for-all ranks and with the winter carnival looming, an assault on the Sunshine Sprint and Blacks A Fake is a distinct possibility.
The Gr.1 $200,000 UBET Blacks A Fake is scheduled for July 15 and will complete the 2016/17 Australian Pacing Gold Grand Circuit season.
And while Avonnova is a Group 1 winner, he is yet to win an event that carries Grand Circuit status.
Avonnova has won 49 races from 154 starts while banking more than $879,000.
Approved By Dean Baring www.harnessbred.com
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