2017 Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Sizing John is still yet to make his seasonal return this season and he will not be seen this weekend either where he was scheduled to return at the Dublin Racing Festival at Leopardstown.
The nine year old was looking to get underway for the season and be racing in a live meeting for the first time since December 2017 at the second ever Dublin Racing Festival.
Harrington has been patient and precise in getting her Gold Cup winner back into tip top condition and does not want to spoil that by running him on ground that is unsuitable for the gelding and this looks to be the case at Leopardstown on Saturday.
(Credit Racing Post) "I don’t think there’s going to be enough rain and if I leave him in I’d only be tempted to run. I must be sensible because, at the end of the day, we’d only do more damage," she said.
Sizing John in his first season under arguably the greatest dual trainer in the sport at the moment, reached heights that not many thought was possible winning not just one Gold cup but three in total.
He managed to land the Leopardstown, Punchestown and Cheltenham Gold Cup in the same season which gave him the honour Ireland’s horse of the year in 2017.
The experienced Ann & Alan Potts owned horse has not been the most straightforward animal to train with serious injuries denying him a lot more runs that he could have had in some big races.
He suffered a hairline fracture to his pelvis which saw him unable to defend his illusive Gold Cup title at the festival and yet again he is set to miss more time off the track now due to conditions not being right for him.
Harrington added: "We’ll just play it by ear until we get enough rain for him. If the ground at Leopardstown had been like it was at Gowran last week, that’d have been grand."