News

Forgotten Horse on Comeback Trail

4th Jun 2010

Breednet - Tara Madgwick - Thursday, 3 June 2010

Blue Diamond winner Reward for Effort has been a forgotten horse on the Breednet Sire Prospect Tracker this year and while his peers have been snapped up for stud duties left right and centre by various farms, he has been battling injury with some light now seen at the end of the tunnel reports Brad Waters of Racenet.

The Peter Moody trained Reward For Effort (pictured) has not raced since his fourth to Phelan Ready in last year’s Golden Slipper after suffering a suspensory ligament injury while preparing for a spring campaign.

Moody said the valuable three-year-old had stem cell treatment for the injury which did not go as well as the stable hoped.

“He had a bit of a reaction to the stem cell treatment,” Moody said. “It set him back a bit and when you are dealing with a horse of his worth, then it’s best to back off them and bring them along slowly.

“He’s been ticking over the whole time since his injury; he’s spent plenty of time in the water walker and doing low-impact sort of things to build up his base fitness.”

The son of Exceed And Excel has been in at Moody’s Caulfield stables for a month and has progressed to working at even time on a couple of mornings a week.

Reward For Effort has pleased Moody enough with his condition for the trainer to set a comeback target for the colt.

“He’s doing really well so far,” Moody said. “I’ve been so happy with what he has done since he’s come back into the stable. I reckon he’ll be right to go in the (Listed) Monash Stakes at Caulfield in July.

“He’s grown into a big, powerful colt now so I want to give him a go in a couple of the early spring sprints before we ease off on him and bring him back for the later spring races.”

Moody said races such as the Group II Salinger Stakes or the Group I Patinack Farm Classic could be options for the rising-four-year-old.

Reward for Effort is one of only a handful of Group One winning AAA grade sire prospects set to race on in the new season on the Breednet Sire Tracker, the others being globe-trotting Redoute’s Choice colt Musir, Cox Plate winner So You Think (High Chaparral IRE), Blue Diamond winner Star Witness (Starcraft) and Champagne Stakes winner Skilled (Commands).

Click here for the updated Breednet Sire Prospect Tracker