 |
 |
|
|
|
racing news |
| Tweet |
racing news /
Abbey Looks on the Road to Recovery
14/08/13
The news that star middle distance performer, St Nicholas Abbey, appears to be on the road to recovery after sustaining a badly broken leg comes as a relief to his many fans in the racing world.
 |
The tremendously popular Aidan O’Brien-trained six-year-old will, of course, never race again after having some 20 screws inserted into his leg during complicated life-saving surgery at the Fethard Equine Hospital. He is currently being closely monitored, but there is cautious optimism that he will survive an injury that invariably proves fatal in most cases.
A winner of nine of his 21 career starts and placed a further nine times at a high level, St Nicholas Abbey was champion two-year-old in 2009 after winning the Group 1 Racing Post Trophy where he was the subject of heavy betting support at odds of 13/8.
He failed to live up to the hype as a three-year-old, but bounced back the following season to win the first of three successive Group 1 Coronation Cups at Epsom’s Derby meeting, as well as a famous win in the 2011 Breeders’ Cup Turf at Churchill Downs.
Hopes are high that he will prove healthy enough following his severe injury to eventually move on to a career at stud. Being by the great Montjeu, there is every chance that St Nicholas Abbey might well prove an attractive dual-purpose sire, his combination of durability and stamina together with a fine turn of foot being sure to appeal to many breeders.
Montjeu himself is one of the world’s best stallions, siring a hatful of Group 1 winners and also having considerable success in the National Hunt sphere – although not yet having had a runner in the Grand National – including siring the great hurdler, Hurricane Fly.
