A leg knock is expected to delay the autumn return of Caulfield Cup winner Incentivise.
Trainer Peter Moody said Incentivise had been progressing well in his bid to resume racing having not raced since finishing second to Verry Elleegant in the 2021 Melbourne Cup where it was later discovered the gelding had damage to both suspensory ligaments and an injured a cannon bone.
Having successfully recovered from those ailments, Moody gave Incentivise extra time, missing the spring, as he felt the gelding was mentally jaded.
Moody said Incentivise was carrying more condition than when he previously raced and had been progressing well.
“He bumped a leg during the week, not bad, but it’s probably set him back a bit,” Moody said.
“He’ll be out for the early autumn, so he’s probably at the back end of autumn now, but his condition is good, but we’ve just erred on the side of caution.
“His scans have been good on his troublesome leg, but we’ve backed off for about 10 days and for a horse like him, that probably sets him back two or three weeks.”
Moody said Incentivise was likely to miss the All-Star Mile and Australian Cup and would possibly have either a Sydney or Brisbane campaign.
“He’s more likely to be in Sydney,” Moody said.
“There might be a starting point at the backend of the Melbourne autumn, but I wouldn’t think you would see him All-Star Mile, Australian Cup time, possibly back beyond that.”
Incentivise shot to prominence during the Brisbane Winter Carnival in 2021 for his owner and breeder Steve Tregea which prompted Brae Sokolski and Ozzie Kheir to buy into the stayer.
Transferred to Moody for the spring, Incentivise won the Group 1 treble of the Makybe Diva Stakes, Turnbull Stakes and Caulfield Cup before his placing in the Melbourne Cup.