The Night Man to miss Guineas

ANY hopes The Night Man held of winning this year’s horse racing triple crown have been dashed by injury to the impressive first time winner. The son of Gilgamesh/Cres-cendo, sent off  as 2/5 favourite to win the Grade 2  Royal Colours Classic at Santa Rosa Park, Arima, on Saturday, sustained the injury during the running of the race, and backers watched in awe as he trailed in last of the seven-horse field. Trainer Cyril “Greypatch” Arneaud confirmed the injury to his three-year-old charge yesterday, and said it is not as bad as it first appeared, but The Night Man will be off the track for a few months.

Arneaud said on his return to his stall after Saturday’s race, he feared his champion two-year-old colt had a fractured sesamoid to his right foreleg. But he said an X-ray was done to the injured leg on Sunday, and “it revealed a strain on the tendon but no fractures.” Arneaud said he knew The Night Man, who topped the sales at the 2003 Carib Stud Farm Association Yearling Sales is of the highest quality, and feared no horse in the race. “I felt depressed after the race,” he said. “When you have a good horse your hope is for it to stay sound, but things like these are regular occurences in the sport. 

“Injuries always seems to target good horses,” Arneaud said. He said plans were to aim the Ravi Ramjanack-owned colt at the triple crown, but with the injury those plans have to be shelved. According to Arneaud, “the injury was nothing serious and one which I can’t handle.” Arneaud said: “From all appearances the Guineas is out. But I hope to bounce back with him in the Midsummer Classic.” The Night Man became an instant favourite with turfites when he won the Guardian Life St James Stakes for colts and geldings by 10 1/4 lengths, in a time almost two seconds faster than the fillies in the Guardian Life St Ann’s Stakes won by the champion two-year-old Arts And Lovers.