The future of talented Darwin sprinter Poupee is up in the air after five-year-old mare suffered a career-threatening injury during the Alice Springs Cup Carnival.
The daughter of Better Than Ready, purchased for $15,000 by trainer Tom Logan at the end of last summer, injured the suspensory ligament in her left leg when running third behind Supreme Attraction in the $100,000 Pioneer Sprint (1200m) on April 30.
The suspensory ligament supports the fetlock joint, preventing it from over-extending and dropping too low when the limb makes contact with the ground.
“She’s going to the Morphettville Equine Clinic next week for scans when Darwin Horse Floats goes back down to Adelaide,” Logan said.
“We’ll know more in a couple of weeks – just hopeful the scans come back all good.
“It’s not looking very good at this stage, but you just don’t know.
“Hopefully there’s not much damage – only little tears and not a big tear.
“We just don’t know what we’re doing until we get the scans done.
“Fingers crossed Poupee will fine, bloody oath.”
2023 Pioneer Sprint replay
1st – Supreme Attraction
Poupee, formerly trained by Stuart Kendrick on the Sunshine Coast, had 21 starts in south-east Queensland for three wins, five seconds, two thirds and two fourths before heading to the NT.
All three wins were achieved at the Sunshine Coast over 1000m, 1200m and 1400m, while she also managed a second on debut in a two-year-old maiden at Doomben (1050m) on New Year’s Day in 2020 before posting another second as a three-year-old at Eagle Farm over 1200m (BM70).
Before arriving in Alice Springs last month, Poupee kicked off her new life in Darwin for the Logan stable in stylish fashion by winning three straight over 1100m (0-70), 1000m (0-70) and 1100m in open company.
A Darwin Cup Carnival campaign failed to materialise after two fifths over 1000m (0-76) and 1200m (0-76), but after a four-month spell the mare bounced back with two wins and two narrow seconds at Fannie Bay in open class from 1000-1300m.
In her first start in the Red Centre, Poupee ($1.45 fav) won an 1100m open handicap by five lengths on April 8 before being wrapped in cotton wool for the Pioneer Sprint.
Drawing barrier 11 in a field of 12 for the Pioneer Sprint, Poupee ($2.70 fav) was far from disgraced in finishing 2.3 lengths behind Supreme Attraction and fellow Darwin sprinter Expert Witness from the Tayarn Halter yard.
Logan admitted that the wide barrier didn’t concern him, but from a neutral perspective it didn’t help as Poupee only lumped 54.5kg with leading NT jockey Sonja Wiseman – Logan’s partner – in the saddle.
“Just as they straightened up in the Pioneer Sprint, Sonja said she could feel Poupee kind of half dip that little bit,” Logan said.
“I just think that if she didn’t suffer the injury in the race she probably nearly would have been not far from the winner.
“It’s racing, just one of those things.
“She got off to a good start, probably went a little bit too hard maybe – but I wasn’t worried about that.
“She tried her guts out and I think that’s why she’s probably half broken down.
“She was still OK to finish the race – if I didn’t tell you then you wouldn’t know.
“Even after the race she was fine.
“It was just the next morning, the leg was all swollen up.
“That was about 6am on the Monday when we got out to Pioneer Park.
“We treated the leg by putting heaps of ice on it a couple of times a day.
“I spoke to the vet down in Adelaide and he said it was better off to get her on the truck and get her down there.
“Poupee stayed in Alice Springs with fellow Darwin trainer Angela Forster looking after her.”
Arguably the best horse in the Logan stable, Poupee will miss the upcoming Darwin Cup Carnival.
That is a pity for connections, because based on her form since stepping out at Fannie Bay for the first time in March last year, she is clearly one of the top horses in the NT.
“We had planned to start her in the Palmerston Sprint during the Darwin Cup Carnival, definitely,” Logan said.
“She was only going to have three or four runs and then go straight to the Palmerston.
“Something is going to give when you get a horse that just tries 110 per cent every time they start.
“We’ve had a lot of problems with her bumpers, but she still races with a lot of determination.
“She’s a stable favourite, she’s so quiet, lovely to ride, lovely to handle.
“She’s just a terrific little horse, really.”
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