When Stoneyrise took out last year’s Country Championships Western Racing Association Qualifier at Dubbo Turf Club it seemed he and his small-time trainer were destined for bigger and better things.
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But since then, it’s hardly been smooth sailing for trainer James Hatch and his star gelding.
One of the most memorable moments of last year’s Country Championships series, the trainer and horse from the tiny community of Hungerford near the Queensland border winning at his first TAB meeting and then travelling for three days to take part in the $500,000 final at Royal Randwick caught the attention of the entire racing fraternity.
But due to some harsh weather conditions at home and some sheer bad luck, the 12 months following all that fanfare hasn’t gone exactly to plan.
As someone used to the hot and dry of the outback, the current conditions rank as some of the worst Hatch has known and it hasn’t allowed him to have any horses in work.
On top of that, he was left rocked roughly two months ago when Stoneyrise, the horse small of stature who became a cult hero among racing fans, dislocated and fractured his draw just when he was primed for another crack at the Country Championships series.
“We had him back in work but things went amiss seven or eight weeks ago,” Hatch said.
“He was just starting to get going again but that’s racing. Things can go amiss.
“We took him to Coonamble again and he looked alright there and then we gave him a bit of a break again, like we did last year, but then he dislocated his jaw and had multiple fractures.
“We had to take him to Sydney to the equine vets and now it’s going to take some time.”
Hatch didn’t see the injury occur but believes his star gelding got it caught up in a rail while in the paddock with a horse which was there purely just as a companion.
“It always happens to the good ones,” he laughed.
“The other horse was fine.”
Hatch said there was some serious concern about Stoneyrise when he discovered the injury.
With the jaw swinging loosely, Stoneyrise was forced to stay like that for “10 or 11 hours” due to the sheer remoteness of Hatch’s property.
He got the six-year-old to Dubbo but it soon became clear Stoneyrise needed more serious attention and after some time in Sydney he now faces up to six more months of recovery.
Stoneyrise won at Coonamble in October and with that being his seventh win in 16 career stars, he was then primed for a crack at the Western heat at Dubbo this Sunday. But all that is all hold now and Hatch said he won’t know until mid-winter what Stoneyrise’s next move will be.
Hatch also has “a couple of young ones” being fed at Armidale currently due to conditions being too difficult at the trainer’s stables.
While he won’t have any horses in action during this year’s series, Hatch said he’s been watching along during the early legs of the series and admitted the “pulse starts racing” when he remembers the biggest moment of his career 12 months ago.
“You never know who’s going to win until he finishes it,” he said of this year’s series.
“There’s three or four standouts but you just never know.”
In terms of those contenders, the manner of Suncraze’s win in the heat at Scone on Sunday caught his eye while Hatch was also impressed by the calibre of horses in show in the $150,000 event at Goulburn.
Nominations for this year’s $150,000 heat will be released on Tuesday.