Kosciuszko winner It's Me will be sidelined indefinitely after suffering a second tendon injury in Saturday's dramatic victory at Randwick.
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Trained by Brett Cavanough at Scone, It's Me overcame an illness scare in the week leading up to the $1.3 million 1200m race to win with a blistering finish.
She was likely headed for the $7.5 million Golden Eagle on October 31 but it was announced on Monday that she would be spelled and miss the rest of the spring carnival.
"Trainer Brett Cavanough has reported to Racing NSW Stewards this morning that It's Me, on return to the stables, was found to have sustained a tendon injury to the off foreleg," Racing NSW reported.
"Mr Cavanough advised the mare will now be spelled and undertake a rehabilitation program.
"As a result, It's Me will not race again this Spring Carnival and wagering operators are requested to remove the mare from feature race markets."
The four-year-old's race career was delayed for a year because of a tendon injury. She debuted in August this year with a win at Scone before three more at Randwick, including Saturday's stunning performance as the $2 favourite.
SUNDAY: Scone trainer Brett Cavanough is looking to the $7.5 million Golden Eagle (1500 metres) with It's Me after the mare gave him his biggest thrill in racing with victory in the $1.3 million Kosciuszko (1200m) on Saturday.
It's Me, a $2 favourite, overcame a troubled run and dramatic week to swoop late and edge out Redouble by a neck and take the $685,000 first prize.
Cavanough had been close to scratching the four-year-old after an endoscopic examination midweek discovered mucus. However, she responded well to treatment and was cleared to race by Racing NSW on Friday.
Cavanough thanked vets James Dawson and John Walker after It's Me's win on Saturday.
"I would have scratched her, but the vets said run her, so credit to those two guys," Cavanough said.
On Sunday, Cavanough said the Shamus Award mare, now unbeaten in four starts following a year off with a tendon injury, would likely head to the Golden Eagle if she raced on this preparation.
It's Me firmed from $26 to $15 with the TAB for the October 31 Golden Eagle at Rosehill. The race for four-year-olds has the likes of Alligator Blood, Funstar and Bivouac among its favourites. Bivouac was runner-up to Classique Legend in the $15 million Everest on Saturday.
"She got a fair bit of love last night, but we'll just sit on her for a few days and see what happens," Cavanough said of It's Me.
"I have no idea where she's going to go. I haven't even thought about it, but she's obviously nominated for [the Golden Eagle]. We'll just let her do the talking over the next few days.
"It will be a proper step up ... but you can't run and hide, you've got to go into them.
"If we are going to go into one, that's probably the race we'll go to. We talked about going to Melbourne but with COVID, that will be too hard, and you have this $4 million-to-the-winner race on your doorstep.
"But we'll see how she pulls up. She's had a bowed tendon, so you never know when or if she's going to break down again. But it's a four-year-old race, so you only get one crack at them."
As well as the health scare, It's Me overcame a difficult time finding clear running in the straight. Bottled up between horses, jockey Jason Collett pushed It's Me out onto other runners at the 300m mark to find space. Still more than five lengths off the leader, It's Me rattled home.
"J Collett, I thought he tried to get her beat. It was ugly, wasn't it, but it worked," Cavanough said on Saturday.
"When he went into traffic, into a black hole on her, I thought 'well, we're in some trouble here'. But gee whiz, he done a bit of camp-drafting to get out and he got the job done."
"Obviously she's a very good mare. They [It's Me and Fender] are both pretty special horses. Not much between them two at home but race day, she just finds six or eight lengths. She's just amazing.'
Fender was 2.8 lengths away in seventh.
"He only got beat a couple of lengths, and he went super," he said. "We'll see how he pulls up, but we'll probably stretch him out to a mile."
The win of It's Me was extra special for Newcastle businessman Bob Dailey, who is one of the mare's part-owners and also the winning slot holder. Dailey snapped up his own horse after his ticket was pulled out in the public sweepstake.
"I got the big payday," Dailey told AAP.
Dailey only recently returned to racing horses after a two-decade hiatus.
"We used to breed horses back in the 80s and 90s and in '99 we thought we'd had enough and we got out," Dailey said.
But a few years ago, he was lured back in, buying his wife Kerrie a share in a horse called Onemoreforluck through Grand Syndicates.
While the mare had moderate success, the racing bug had bitten again and when Grand Syndicates offered another yearling filly for sale, Dailey dropped his wife a subtle hint.
"I suggested to my wife a share in that was a nice birthday present and she came through," he said.
The filly turned out to be It's Me and Dailey is enjoying the ride of his life.
The $1.3 million The Kosciuszko is the world's richest race for country-trained horses and Cavanough was honoured to win it.
Making it even more special was the fact It's Me had spent her whole career trained in the country, while some rivals were originally from city stables and transferred to target the rich race.
"It's a pinnacle for country trainers. We all want to win it," Cavanough said.
"The city people sent their group 2 horse down to Albury, good luck to them. They tried, they went close but it didn't work.
"It just goes to show a little country mare got the job done. It's all country this."
Meanwhile, in a bittersweet postscript to The Everest, Classique Legend's owner Bon Ho has confirmed the horse will head overseas.
While not ruling out a return to Australia to defend his title in the world's richest turf race next year, Ho revealed his desire to campaign the sprinter on the international stage.
"I've got a slot in The Everest for three years and Classique Legend is likely to return next year - unless I have a better sprinter at home,'' Ho said.
"But I think Classique Legend is one of the top two or three sprinters in the world and he will have a better opportunity to race globally if he is based in Hong Kong.
"We can race him in Dubai, Tokyo and even Royal Ascot but I hope he can be back in Sydney next year for The Everest again.''
Classique Legend scored a thumping victory in the $15 million The Everest at Randwick on Saturday, settling midfield and powering home to street his rivals by 2-1/2 lengths.
He is set to enter quarantine on Monday before travelling to Hong Kong for the International Sprint in December, ahead of a globetrotting campaign.
Classique Legend was set to be transferred to Hong Kong earlier this year but Ho's plans were scuppered by the coronavirus pandemic.