Ashrun wins his way into the 2020 Melbourne Cup in the Hotham Handicap.Credit: Getty
“You can’t think what might have been with him; we are just enjoying what he is doing now. But considering how long the journey has been with him, he has become one of my favourites.”
Lovett is still excited about the form that attracted Australian Bloodstock to Ashrun, before the heartbreak of injury put everyting on hold.
“He was placed in a group 1 in Germany and was runner-up in a very strong Prix Kergorlay back in 2020,” Lovett said. “It was a great year for stayers in Europe and, as I said, we thought we had the right horse and right weight in the Cup.
“We were happy for him to go back to Europe after the Melbourne Cup because we had the right profile to be competitive in the good races over there before coming back for the [Melbourne] Cup the next year.
“Then he got injured and we said to Andreas, just sent him back here and we will see if we can get him rehabbed. Then he got another tendon [injury] and we thought he might never get back.
“He is an amazing horse because the first day back at the races in September last year, we were just hoping he would keep up and not get beat 20 lengths. But he charged through the line only a couple of lengths from them – it was the signs he was the horse we thought we had four years ago.”
Lovett and Maher sat down and knew that a top-three placing in the Geelong Cup would be enough to gain a Melbourne Cup start.
“When he got second in a photo at Geelong, it was like winning for all that he had been through,” Lovett said. “Just to get back to the Melbourne Cup was a win for the owners, who had faith in him, and then he ran fourth and Ciaron said he might be better this year because he has had so long off.”
Maher has a philosophy with tendon injuries that time is important before controlling the loads on the legs to help horses such as Ashrun return. It also means they build their form because each run gives a platform for the next.
Ashrun wins the Pakenham Cup, bringing to an end a four-year injury battle.Credit: Getty
“There is a lot of treadmill work and trying to keep things as controlled as possible with horses with a tendon [problem],” Maher said. “The beach is great for them, and you try to keep the load off the tendon as much as possible.
“You don’t want to put too much stress on the legs because by the time we get them back into the racing part of the stable, it has been a long process.
“You get them back to the races and if you get it right, you can see them get confidence and fitness, so generally they improve.
“It was just great for this bloke to get back to the Melbourne Cup, but winning another race was incredible.”
The final piece of the puzzle was complete when Ashrun won the Pakenham Cup a couple of weeks ago, which opened the door to the Tancred Stakes.
Loading
“It was something like 1300 days since his last win, but 1000 of those days were in rehab,” Maher said. “His target was always the next month for us because he is a two-miler and the Sydney Cup is there for him.
“But he can go from being a handicapper to a weight-for-age horse on the weekend. The good thing about the Pakenham Cup was they ran along, and his staying talent came through.
“I think at this level it might be the same again, and he will be there if it’s strongly run on Saturday. I don’t think there will be any horse tougher than him or as good of a stayer in this field.”
Source Agencies
