To say Derek Nolan's lead-up to tomorrow's Ready To Run sales has been challenging would be a mild understatement.
So that will leave the former jockey and his partner Sophie Orting, owners of Lillywhites Lodge in South Auckland, with some choices to make in the next two days.
The couple and the owners or their outside lots will offer 21 two-year-olds at the New Zealand Bloodstock sale but with the most unorthodox preparations.
Because Nolan and Orting live in the Auckland region they have been unable to have Waikato-based trainers or agents come to their property while their horses had to breeze up (gallop at speed on video) at Te Rapa without the option of heading there for a practice outing first.
Even on their breeze up days they had to be sent south of the Covid border to caretakers for the day because Nolan and Orting couldn't accompany them.