A floating bone chip that required surgery brought a premature end to his campaign after his July Cup run last year; a problem with his near foreleg surfaced after a routine gallop; after initial scans, the horse could be out for the rest of the season
Tuesday 26 April 2022 11:17, UK
Roger Teal fears crack sprinter Oxted could be sidelined until next season after suffering a tendon injury.
After landing the King's Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot last June, Oxted was a close-up third in defence of his July Cup title at Newmarket.
A floating bone chip that required surgery brought a premature end to his campaign after his July Cup run, but hopes were high he could begin his season in the Duke Of York Stakes before an attempt to retain his Royal Ascot crown.
However, a problem with his near foreleg surfaced after a routine gallop and after initial scans on the injury, the Lambourn trainer now fears the worst.
Teal said: "We are still not 100 per cent clear how bad the injury is, but obviously it has knocked us out of York and will probably knock us out for the rest of the season.
"We are going to have him re-scanned again next week and then maybe, if there is some sort of miracle…
"I've been in this game long enough. It's probably more doubtful than not he will run again this year.
"He has a small tear in his tendon. Sometimes you can get away with a knock, so that's why we have to have him re-scanned, but we fear the worst. Once you have something there, it often develops into something worse.
"He is still relatively young as far as sprinters go and if we look after him now, hopefully we can get him back."
Teal, who trains the six-year-old for Tony Hirschfeld, Stephen Piper, David Fish and John Collins, added: "Telling the owners is the hardest part. To be fair, I can't fault them.
"They took it really well. They have been in this game long enough. They are athletes and they go wrong. It is sport, but it's that old saying of 'half a ton on glass legs'.
"We got rid of a knee chip, which was a bit of a bummer and stopped him last season, and he has been moving brilliantly and he was flying.
"We were just so hopeful. He just did a routine canter. It can only take one bad step.
"It is what it is and there are worse things going on in the world, so we can't be too downhearted.
"When it happened, I said to my wife, Sue, 'It always happens to us, doesn't it?', but she said, 'No. It doesn't!' - she really put me back in my box!
"But when you have a Group One horse like him and you are looking forward to him, it gets you a bit."
