Palmer has autumn campaign in mind for Powerful Breeze

PA Sport Reporters
April 10, 2020 3:00 pm

Unfortunate injury setback ruled filly out of 1000 Guineas.

Hugo Palmer is looking to the autumn with star filly Powerful Breeze as she continues to recover from broken ribs sustained earlier in the year.

The Iffraaj filly won her first two starts last year, including the May Hill at Doncaster, before finding Quadrilateral just a head too good in the Fillies’ Mile on her final outing.

Powerful Breeze was prominent in the 1000 Guineas market before her mishap and while the coronavirus pandemic has seen the Guineas delayed from its original date next month, Palmer is not hurrying his filly back into action.

He told Racing TV: “She got a fright from a speeding car, lost her rider and then fell over, landing on the stirrup iron. She broke some ribs, which are healing – it’s seven weeks ago yesterday, they are healing but anyone who’s had a broken rib knows it’s a slow and painful process.

“Obviously for a horse, that’s where we have to put the girth around.

“We will get her back. People have joked to me ‘you might get to run her in the Guineas anyway’, but I very, very firmly would much rather watch the Guineas go ahead as soon as possible without her and then we can find some autumn targets for her.”

With racing on hold until at least May 1, Palmer is taking it day by day at his Newmarket base as plans continue to be formulated for a return to action as soon as it is safe to do so.

He added: “I think for everyone up and down the country, it’s a little bit groundhog day isn’t it?

“Luckily for those who train racehorses, groundhog day does include getting out of bed, going out and looking after our horses, exercising them and bringing them back in and keeping their owners up to date with the progress we’re making.

“None of us are quite sure in which direction we’re making progress, because we don’t know when and what is going to start.

“The horses have to do enough to keep themselves safe and protected from injury. A huge amount of Flat trainers’ horses at this time of year would be being prepared for debuts in July, August, September or October.

“We’ve got loads of two-year-olds in every yard up and down the country, some that might be trained all year and not even run in 2020.

“A lot of the business as usual goes on, obviously horses that were being got ready for early targets have missed them, but they’ll come round.”