Moth to undergo bone scan before future is decided

Major Moth (Art Major) will undergo a full bone scan at the Ballarat Veterinary Practice on Thursday (Jan. 12) before a decision is made regarding his current harness racing campaign.

Any plans of a start in January 21’s Ballarat Pacing Cup are now off the table and February 4’s A G Hunter Cup is also in serious doubt as owner Len Parker takes a cautious approach with his star son of Art Major.

The Emma Stewart-trained pacer won his first three starts back from almost a year on the sidelines through December, but was scratched from the Vicbred Super Series final for four-year-old entires and geldings on New Year’s Eve due to soreness in a hind leg.

Parker said the horse sustained injuries during a float incident following his Vicbred semi-final victory on December 23, and while it’s not anticipated the bone scan will find any major issues, it’s being done so the preparation can continue with confidence.

“We just wanted to make sure there was nothing wrong before we started on him,” Parker said.

“The gut feel is that we don’t think there’s any bone damage…”

Parker said a fractured pastern as a young horse and then an ongoing “PODS” problem had been behind Major Moth’s limited time on the track, with the now five-year-old having only had 20 career starts.

“I was absolutely thrilled for him to come back after 12 months off and absolutely blitz them,” Parker said.

“No one has seen the best of him – I know that for a fact – even though he blitzed as a two-year-old. We had a little bit of an interrupted three-year-old season – the handful of starts he had we had problems,” Parker said.

“Finally, we had him 100 per cent right and he just won those three races for fun (in December).”

Parker said Stewart’s partner Clayton Tonkin had flagged a possible Sydney campaign in 2023, with the $1million Miracle Mile likely part of the agenda.

“We haven’t discussed it in length, but he has mentioned Sydney. Clayton has always maintained you’ll never see the best of him until he’s on the big Menangle track,” he said.

“Hopefully a miracle can happen and the Hunter Cup is still on the radar.”

Major Moth is a 12-time winner and has prizemoney earnings of almost $300,000.

by Tim O’Connor, for HRV