The spring return of exciting galloper Gold Watch has been delayed and trainer Cliff Goss admits it could cost him a shot at his main target this campaign.
Goss was hoping to line Gold Watch up at Te Rapa today after the wet track forced his scratching from his original comeback race at Matamata last Saturday.
But he will miss today after what Goss describes as a "spring cough" that needed treatment.
"I don't think it is a big deal but we had to treat it and the withholding times for his treatment meant he couldn't race this week anyway," Goss said yesterday.
He now hopes to have Gold Watch, the winner of four of his five starts, back for a rating 74 at Hastings on October 16, the last day of their carnival, as a stepping stone toward his main spring aim, the Couplands Mile at Riccarton on November 10.