Moore spells injured Happy Zero in lush UK paddock
Happy Zero's July Cup assignment has been abandoned and the star sprinter is undergoing further examination over the back injury that emerged following his worst performance in the Golden Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot.
The five-year-old will be minutely examined by experts before trainer John Moore spells him in England for the summer.
Moore said yesterday the gelding's back, which have been adversely affected by unaccustomed uphill track gallops prior to his flop at Royal Ascot, was showing no sign of change despite treatment.
'The treatment he has been getting, with medication and shockwaves and various other methods, simply hasn't worked and he is not getting any better,' Moore said.
'I asked my son George, who is looking after him there in England, to get bone scans done this week and we need to find out exactly what the problem is and fix it.
'The vets will go all over him, then he'll have some recuperation time in his box, then six to eight weeks at the farm we use in the United Kingdom, Hilltop Farm.
'He should enjoy the chance to spell in a nice green paddock rather than inside the stables at Sha Tin,' the trainer added.
Moore said persisting with the July Cup option any longer endangered the prospects of having Happy Zero ready for the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Sprint in December.
'I thought we had to stop now to be sure he would have a good spell here before he flies back to Hong Kong - he's booked to go in early September and that gives us time to get him fit again.
'But if we waited any longer, he doesn't get the same break and then you're battling to have him ready for the lead-up races,' he said.
'Actually, the symptoms of his injury remind me of those that Able One had at one stage. It looks to me like the hip area, right side. The vet doesn't agree but the bone scan might tell us for sure.'
