By Michael Guerin
Exceptional pacing filly Shez All Rock is going to miss next month’s Breeders Crown.
Trainer Mark Purdon has given up trying to get the superstar three-year-old to the final major race of he season (which is a month later in Australia) after leg issues flared up this week.
“She started to have a few problems on Monday and examinations showed there was a bit going on in an area of her leg we have had concerns with before,” said Purdon. “It doesn’t appear serious and long-term but we don’t want to put the pressure on her so she can have a spell now.”
That will come as a blow to the series organisers but a relief to rival trainers as Shez All Rock was a hot favourite for the three-year-old pacing fillies division after a stunning season.
She won the NSW and Victoria Oaks before being sold to US-based former Kiwi trainer Chris Ryder and joining the Purdon-Rasmussen stable.
Her New Zealand debut was a stunner, smashing her NZ Oaks rivals at Addington and she then became the first Australian invite to win a Harness Jewels with a breathtaking catch me if you can performance.
She qualified for the Breeders Crown at Addington earlier this month but now joins two-year-old trotter Enhance Your Calm as a high-profile withdrawal from the series for the All Stars stable.
The remaining members of the All Stars team will head to Sydney next week and have their final Crown lead-ups there, with open class pacer Cash N Flow to join them and he could race at Menangle as early as next Saturday and then stay in New South Wales for more regular racing opportunities.
The team’s best Breeders Crown hope is now unbeaten juvenile filly Princess Tiffany, who has pleased Purdon with her recent work.
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