AKUTA will not race this year after a second scan of a training injury last week.
“It didn’t look so good” Mark said “He won’t be racing this year at this stage”
Akuta stumbled while working at Pukehohe and while he didn’t fall while recovering the shoe on the opposite foot came in contact with the leg.
The initial scan was only a preliminary observation because of the swelling in the leg so the second one was the crucial test. Akuta had some light work and did waterwalking without problems but the injury was worse than first hoped for.
The setback follows a tendon injury that sidelined Millwood Nike giving the stable a big one/two whammy for the start of 2024. The saing grace was that it was also an opportunity for Don’t Stop Dreaming to step up to the plate in races like the Hunter Cup on Saturday at Melton.
The winner of 16 of his 31 starts and over $1.1m in stakes Akuta will undergo rest and intensive treatment during his spell with hope he can return to the tracks sooner than feared.