Reigning Horse of the Year Weekend Hussler is out of contention for the spring after sustaining a potentially career-ending injury to his off foreleg.   The inflammatory condition, known as Synovitis, affects the inner lining of the joint capsule within the fetlock which can only be detected by an arthroscope.   

The champion four-year-old son of Hussonet has not raced since his fifth placing in the Group 1 Australia Stakes at Moonee Valley on 14 February.

Vet, Rob McInnes, explained, “You can only diagnose the problem via an arthroscope because nothing shows up on the x-rays, and hence radiographs after his poor performance on 14 February didn’t show anything.

“Once he hadn’t responded to the normal treatment regimes for a wrenched joint as we diagnosed initially we spelled him, but it (the injury) didn’t improve out in the paddock, hence he was brought back into the stables and the arthroscope was put in.

“We flushed it out and we have given him quarterzone steroids postoperatively and it hasn’t responded so far.”

McInnes said that Synovitis is a rare condition with only six cases to have been reported in Australia.

“I’ve contacted different vets around the world and there’s nothing we haven’t done so far that would normally help the condition so we’re now just investigating the possibility of further treatments rather than just rest.

“There are reported treatments that involve the injection of a radioactive isotope into the joint to destroy the synovial membrane which they do to humans with the same condition and they have a good response to it.

“If we decide to go down the path of the radioactive isotope it would have to be flown over from France.”

McInnes concluded that of the conditions that have been reported world-wide, about two thirds of the horses came back to race successfully.

Weekend Hussler’s trainer Ross McDonald and wife Margaret are devastated by the discovery.

Ross said, “Everyone’s disappointed for sure. I think everyone in racing is disappointed but it’s one of those things in racing.

“We never made any plans for the spring because we knew we were working on getting him right, but the Cox Plate would have been on the agenda.

“There’s nothing written on the injury he’s got so it’s all a bit of a guessing game.”

Margaret added, “You only have a look at him to see he’s just magnificent. He will never forget how to gallop, they never lose that. Even if it takes nine months. He’s only a young horse and he’s not heavily raced so we’ll get him back but it’s a damn shame.”

Permalink| Jun 24, 2009

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