Lame Akeed Mofeed ruled out of QEII Cup
An injury sustained at trackwork has ruled Akeed Mofeed out of Sunday’s Group One Audemars Piguet QEII Cup, but trainer Richard Gibson was still breathing a sigh of relief after scans revealed his stable star may race again next season.
Akeed Mofeed pulled up lame in his right front leg following his final gallop in preparation for the HK$14 million event – jockey Douglas Whyte dramatically restraining the powerfully built stallion and dismounting immediately after a solid workout on Sha Tin’s all-weather track.
Initially it was feared the five-year-old’s racing career was over but after further examination by Jockey Club vets, Gibson was delivered an encouraging prognosis on his dual Group One winner.
“We’ve got the results of the vet examination this afternoon [Tuesday] and we are very relieved to find that Akeed Mofeed has suffered only a short-term injury,” Gibson said. “He has knocked himself somehow, suffered some localised bruising and although it still means he can’t run this weekend, it is, relatively, good news.”
A career at stud in Australia awaits the talented son of Dubawi, who was purchased for a rumoured US$2 million as a three-year-old by Chinese billionaire Pan Sutong. Akeed Mofeed has since won more than HK$28 million – Group One wins at last year’s Hong Kong Derby and Hong Kong Cup making up more than half that amount.
It was thought that this would be Akeed Mofeed’s final season of racing anyway, regardless of Tuesday's injury, but Gibson suggested a return this year was now a possibility “provided the horse is in good shape”.
“This is a short-term injury. We’ll play it by ear as to when he does race again but there are plenty of options for the future,” Gibson said.
In other QEII news, French jockey Gerald Mosse will return to ride John Moore-trained Dominant in the race. Moore’s four runners all had a “quiet” morning – the trainer saying he would wait until Thursday to give the quartet a final blowout.
“Everything’s going to plan with Designs On Rome, he’s a very sound horse … it’s more or less the same story for Military Attack, Dominant and Same World,” he said. “I’m happy with them all. This morning [Tuesday] was a quiet one for my horses, just cantering around, and they’ll all do their work on Thursday – that’ll be a major morning for me.”
Meanwhile, Australian rider Tye Angland will miss his second straight meeting on Sunday due to personal reasons.
