Rock Magic Ruled Out Of Ascot Carnival
20 August, 2018
Thoroughbred
Rock Magic has been ruled out for the remainder of the year and will miss the Ascot carnival.
Trainer Chris Gangemi said time is against Rock Magic after he injured his knee in a stable accident last June.
“Unfortunately he is going to miss the Winterbottm Stakes and the Ascot carnival this year,” Gangemi told Tabradio.
“We possibly could have brought him back, but we were not going to risk him.
“The reports we are getting from David Murphy at Murdoch Hospital said his problem should be fine with rest.
“At first we thought he might have needed just one month off, but it turns out he needs three months off.
“I don’t think it’s anything too serious and from what we have been told they generally recover pretty well.
“It’s not the end of the world and shouldn’t be an issue to race into the future.”
Rock Magic has not raced since winning the Roma Cup (1200m) at Ascot in May, defeating stable mates Battle Hero and Durendal.
The son of Redoute’s Choice, a winner of $1.2 million in prize money, damaged knee ligaments while striding out on a walker.
Meanwhile Gangemi said quality gelding Samizdat was close to returning to his stable after a short break.
The $325,000 sale topper at last year’s Magic Millions Perth yearling sale created a big impression on debut.
Living up to the pre-race hype, Samizdat unleashed a strong finishing burst from the back of the field and scored comfortably on July 21.
“He’s had three weeks off and looks super,” Gangemi said.
“He’ll be back to us in a week or two.”
Gangemi also said Disposition, bought for $45,000 at the Perth autumn sale, had taken some time to acclimatize to his new environment.
The Reset gelding, previously with trainers Grant and Alana Williams and Adam Durrant, is close to resuming after trialling on Monday.
“He’s seems to be getting happier each week and adapting to our conditions,” Gangemi said.
“Hopefully he trials well and goes into a 1300 weight-for-age race (Idyllic Prince Stakes) in a couple of weeks.”
Julio Santarelli