Racing: Mystifying Don Garcia back to work

Trainer Mark Walker says he will aim for a start in the $50,000 Eclipse Stakes at Ellerslie on Boxing Day.

Black Panther remains the hot favourite for the $150,000 Great Northern Guineas and trainer Richard Yuill believes there were good reasons for the talented 3-year-old finishing only fourth at Ellerslie on Sunday.

QuoteBox1: The Auckland Racing Club has to have a good look at this race for next year - if they want to run the race on a skinny track with the rail out so far, then they have to reduce the number of horses. It's cruel. Richard Yuill on Black Panther's loss

MugCaption1: Mark Walker

Everything seems fine with embattled glamour colt Don Garcia.

At least that's what trainer Mark Walker can determine from yesterday's physical inspection after Don Garcia appeared to have pulled a muscle during his shock defeat at Te Rapa on Saturday.

The previously unbeaten Don Garcia started the shortest-priced favourite since the TAB introduced fixed-odds betting, but finished fifth, 3.2 lengths from winner Chant.

Yesterday morning, Walker took Don Garcia to the Matamata track for the first time since the race.

"We won't know for sure whether he's 100 per cent until he's put under real pressure, but he appears to be okay.

"I got Jim Gibbs to watch him - there's nothing like getting the opinion of the master himself - and he felt the horse was close enough to 100 per cent."

As a result, Walker has made the decision to press on towards the $50,000 Eclipse Stakes at Ellerslie on January 1 with the million-dollar colt.

"I can't come up with a reason not to. In an ideal world you would barrier-trial him, but the only trials are next week and you don't want to do that. Beyond that, the only trials are on January 10."

Walker said he would know a lot more when he put Don Garcia under pressure with some three-quarter work late next week.

"Meanwhile I'll obviously be monitoring him very closely."

Walker is confident that if there is a residual problem it will show up in next week's trackwork. Safely through that, he believes there will be no repeat of Saturday's effort at Ellerslie.

"He certainly looks bright enough. He appears to have taken no harm in that direction from Saturday's race."

* A decision has yet to be made on what race emerging star Focal Point will tackle at the Ellerslie carnival. But it's starting to swerve away from the original declaration for the $200,000 City Of Auckland Cup on January 1.

The more likely race is the $150,000 Zabeel Classic on Boxing Day.

The Logan stable raised a few eyebrows when it declared that Focal Point might jump from the 1600m of last week's Gasmate Stakes to the 2400m of the City Of Auckland Cup.

Co-trainer Dean Logan says the likely switch to the 2000m of the weight-for-age Zabeel Classic has nothing to do with distance.

It's about where they go with Focal Point after the carnival.

"If she takes on the 2400m it's too hard to drop back in distance afterwards.

"If she is suited by the 2000m, which she looks likely to be, it's easy enough to drop her back to the 1600m races, where the money is after Ellerslie. She wouldn't be able to do that if she raced at 2400m."

Yesterday the TAB had Focal Point as a $14 chance in the City Of Auckland Cup in futures betting, with no market for the Zabeel Classic.

In-form Kerry O'Reilly is the Cup favourite at the TAB on $3.50, with a drop back to Filante Etoile and Pretorious on $8, Zarius on $11 and Avondale Cup winner Creil on $12.

Black Panther remains the hot $2.25 favourite for the $150,000 Great Northern Guineas (2000m) at Ellerslie on Boxing Day despite finishing fourth in the New Zealand Bloodstock Insurance-sponsored prelude at Ellerslie on Sunday.

Trainer Richard Yuill is disappointed that Black Panther's owners, Peter Walker and Waka Nathan, now miss the opportunity to lift the $100,000 triple crown bonus, but is in no way disappointed with the horse.

"The Auckland Racing Club has to have a good look at this race for next year - if they want to run the race on a skinny track with the rail out so far, then they have to reduce the number of horses. It's cruel."

Back-runners are usually inconvenienced on narrow tracks and Yuill feels this cost Black Panther the race.

A hot favourite, Black Panther finished strongly to be beaten a nose, a nose and half a length.

"It was a stop-start affair. I don't want to be critical of the rider, because it's always easier afterwards, but perhaps during a period where they were going slow he could have moved forward to make it easier on the horse.

"I've clocked all the sectionals on the race - the leaders walked then sprinted home in between 33.5s and 34s from the 600m, so what did he have to run home in to beat them?

"When the track is that narrow you can't be making your run on the home bend or you strike that difficult camber and get thrown out even wider.

"I've got no problem that the horse is up to it and I believe in another three or four strides he'd have won. With the bias on the day he couldn't do that.

"The whole situation will look stupid if he comes out and wins the Guineas on Boxing Day."

Izzat, at $5.50, is second-favourite in the Guineas with the TAB, and the next-shortest price is $7 for Joyful Life.