Trainer Tony Pike breathed a sigh of relief yesterday as he watched Group 1 New Zealand Derby winner Sherwood Forest moving freely after pulling up lame in his campaign opener at Ellerslie the previous day.
The Fastnet Rock 4-year-old finished nearly 10 lengths behind the second-to-last runner in the JRA Trophy (1400m) on Saturday.
The gelding's subsequent veterinary examination found grade 4/5 lameness in his left foreleg but he was walking freely and showing no signs of a problem yesterday.
"We just don't know what has happened," Pike said. "Michael [McNab] said he lost his action after a furlong and he tailed off.
"He pulled up extremely lame, so we took him home and performed some precautionary X-rays but they have revealed nothing at this stage. He's trotted up 100 per cent sound, so it's a little bit of a mystery.