Racing: Baldessarini out of Te Rapa feature

Baldessarini is out of Saturday's $100,000 Waikato Draught Sprint with filling in a leg.

Gutted trainer Ann Herbert said she noticed the filling for the first time yesterday morning.

"The vets have said they could patch him up for us and we could continue with the current campaign, but he's been too good a horse to us for that.

"As disappointing as it is for us to have to spell him, at least he'll come back 100 per cent now we have made that decision."

Baldessarini brilliantly won New Zealand's premier 1200m sprint, the Railway at Ellerslie over the recent carnival, and was to have been a great drawcard on Saturday against Darci Brahma, Xcellent and Gee I Jane.

"I really feel for the connections of Xcellent who are going through the same thing," said Herbert.


Tomorrow's final fields:

4.04: WHAKANUI STUD INTERNATIONAL STAKES (Group one) $100,000, wfa, 2000m
1 6X525 Hail (5) 58 G Grylls
2 76404 Distinctly Secret (3) 58 M Walker
3 11173 Kerry O'Reilly (10) 58
4 51110 Pretorius (2) 58 G McKeon
5 11324 Hurrah (6) 57 N Harris
6 93610 Atapi (7) 57
7 61810 Snazzy (11) 57 L Cropp
6 9201 Bazelle (9) 56.5 J Waddell
9 81522 Kind Return (8) 56.5 V Colgan
10 15640 Tusker (4) 55.5 G Cooksley
11 25171 Primavera (1) 55.5

5.24: WAIKATO DRAUGHT SPRINT
(Group one) $100,000, wfa, 1400m
1 22101 Kristov (8) 57.5 J Waddell
2 05417 Sedecrem (4) 57.5
3 11116 Baldessarini (6) 57.5 scratched
4 X5564 Mr Multiwin tcd (2) 57.5 G McKeon
5 38820 Dezigna (5) 57.5
6 33141 Manten (7) 57
7 00021 Gee I Jane (3) 56 V Colgan
8 X111X Darci Brahma (1) 53 M Walker