Racing: Baldessarini to undergo veterinary tests

Baldessarini will today undergo exhaustive veterinary tests including x-rays after the worst performance of his career to tail the field in Saturday's $70,000 sprint at Rotorua.

Trainer Anne Herbert was yesterday still staggered by the depth of the disappointment from her Railway Handicap winner.

But rider Lisa Cropp is certain the failure to beat one horse home was entirely due to the fact that Baldessarini could not perform on the almost unique Rotorua surface.

"He just couldn't hit out on it at all - he actually slipped between the 600m and the 500m and got a fright.

"He was never travelling."

Herbert said she wants to reassure herself that there is nothing physically amiss. "I can't find a thing wrong with him, but I want to be able to rule that side of it out completely, which is why we'll do every test.

"I've never been so shocked in my career, I really thought he'd win," Herbert said.

Stewards ordered a veterinary inspection on Baldessarini which showed nothing.

"It had been well recorded that he'd had bruised heels a couple of weeks ago, but when the vet put the testers on his feet he showed no sign of pain.

"I had to go to the judicial room and it was a fair while later that I came back from there and I thought, well he'll be completely cold now and when I walk him he'll be lame, but he was fine.

"I'm completely baffled.

"If it was just the track, could it really be that bad?

"Although I suppose when daisy-clipping sprinters don't get traction they can lose confidence."

Cropp wasn't the only rider to declare her Lion Red Plate mount unsuited to Rotorua - Cameron Lammas said Devoted felt uncomfortable throughout.

"The track is a bit lumpy and he's better on a much smoother surface.

"But he tries hard and he got home well. He'll keep."

The official track reading early Saturday morning was a firm 2.1 and riders felt the wind throughout the day and warm conditions combined to make the surface progressively firmer.