Craven in no rush with talented pacer

Matthew Craven isn’t rushing to get star four-year-old Kowalski Analysis back to the races, with a slow and steady approach to some of Victoria harness racing’s big features the likely way forward.

The son of Roll With Joe is back home after a two-start Queensland campaign, which saw him gallop out of contention in the Rising Sun and then run second in the Group 3 JC McMullen.

Craven revealed that it hadn’t been smooth sailing for the horse while up north, and with his main aims for 2021 still some time away, there was no desire to push forward to the races any time soon.

“We just freshened him up when he came home from Queensland,” the Ecklin South trainer said.

“After galloping in the Rising Sun, (and) we thought he was okay, in the subsequent days after that, bruises burst out his heels.

“He sort of missed a week’s work and then raced and ran well, but we just decided when he got home to give him a little freshen-up again.”

Stablemate Pink Galahs captured Group 1 glory while in Queensland, and after a couple of weeks rest in the paddock, is now being set for the Aldebaran Park Bill Collins Trotters Sprint on October 9.

“Be nice if I could get a run into her leading into that,” Craven said.

“We picked her up on Sunday and she has come back looking terrific.”

By Tim O’Connor for HRV