Cambridge co-trainer Andrew Forsman was disappointed but realistic about the scratching of Thunderbird One from the DHL Counties Cup on Saturday after he refused to enter the starting gates.
"We thought we had turned a corner with him two starts ago as he was starting to relax and move into the gates okay, but he got stirred up at Ellerslie last time even though he finally went in, and when he banged the gate on Saturday as they made the first attempt to get him in it just all turned to custard," he said.
There was further bad news during the week with talented four-year-old Usainity out for up to 12 months with tendon damage sustained during the running of his first start in a new campaign at Tauranga.