Fighter Command out of Eureka and fighting for his life

Budding superstar pacer Fighter Command (Always B Miki) is out of the TAB Eureka and fighting for his life.

Devastated harness racing trainer Jess Tubbs said the three-year-old, who boasts nine wins from just 12 starts, was rushed to the Ballarat veterinary clinic for emergency surgery this afternoon.

“He seemed fine when he came in to work this morning, but then started pawing the ground and it was clear we had a problem,” she said.

“Luckily we had our vet here and she treated him, but she pretty quickly said he needed to go to the clinic.

“He’s having surgery now. We won’t know until later today how it goes.

“We’re not thinking about missing the Eureka, we just want the horse to pull through.”

Fighter Command was the X-factor of Saturday night’s TAB Eureka and just one of two three-year-old pacers in the race.

The big and raw gelding has won all five starts this campaign – and nine of his 12 lifetime starts – including smashing the track record in The Beautide in Hobart on August 3.

That win secured the Tasmanian-owned pacer the Tasracing slot in the TAB Eureka.

Fighter Command was an $11 chance after drawing barrier one earlier today.

Tasracing has to decide today on which of the four emergencies it will replace Fighter Command with in its slot. They are: Wisper A Secret, Dougs Platter, Dangerous and Regazzo Di Tilly.

by Adam Hamilton, for Harness Racing Victoria