Testament troubled by leg injury

Press, 8 December 1988, Page 39

Testament troubled by leg injury

PA Wellington The top three-year-old, Testament, is being hampered by a leg injury which could force him out of key assignments this summer.

Trainer Alan Jones, of Cambridge, said the Church Parade gelding, the winner 'of seven of his nine starts, had become “a day-to-day proposition”. “He’s had trouble with a tendon at his last three starts,” Jones said.

“We’ve worked on it and managed to keep it in check, but it’s become

more of a problem as the tracks have got harder.” Swelling around the tendon forced Testament to miss the Derby Trial at Te Rapa on Tuesday. “There was more heat than usual in the leg on Monday morning,” Jones said. “It was too risky to run him.” Testament, the winner of the Cambridge Breeders’ Stakes and Winstone (Great Northern) Guineas this season, is engaged in the $40,000 Star Way Stakes at Te Aroha on Saturday. “He’ll start if the swell-

ing goes down,” Jones said. Thereafter, his programme will be decided race by race. “It’ll depend on how his leg holds up.” There was no guarantee Testament would take his place in the Avondale Guineas or New Zealand Derby. Jones has taken the precaution of nominating him for the premier mile of the Auckland Racing Club’s summer programme.

“If I can’t get enough training into him for the Derby, he’ll start in the mile,” he said.