A freak trackwork accident has thrown Akuta’s immediate future into disarray.
New Zealand’s best pacer injured a tendon after throwing a shoe and stumbling in trackwork on Wednesday, his rear hoof contacting a front leg.
Co-trainer Mark Purdon says the skin wasn’t broken but the tendon took a significant knock and has swollen up, ruling Akuta out of an Australian campaign that was supposed to start next week.
Whether it also takes him out of the rich autumn here, including the $ 1 million Race by Grins and Auckland Cup, will not be clear for at least a fortnight.
“It is quite swollen and we will have to wait for it to go down before we can re-scan it,” says Purdon.
