Rock N Roll Doo out of the Race by Grins

Gifted Victorian harness racing star Rock N Roll Doo (Rock N Roll Heaven) is out of the $NZ1m Race By Grins at Cambridge next Friday.

But there is a silver lining to the heartbreak for owner Brendan James, trainer Mick Stanley and caretaker trainer Cran Dalgety.

Rock N Roll Doo is staying in NZ for two, maybe even four feature races and he’d shown enough before his untimely hoof abscess to convince Dalgety he was up to any horse in NZ at the moment.

Days of hope and anguish came to an end with disappointment this morning (Saturday) when Dalgety officially gave up the battle to have Rock N Roll Doo ready for next Friday’s Race By Grins at Cambridge.

“It was D-Day. We had everything crossed overnight (Friday) the abscess would come out, but when we checked him in the morning and it still hadn’t, we had to make the call,” Dalgety said.

“Even though he was very fit, you can’t miss any work when you’re going into a race as strong as this.”

James was remarkably philosophical.

“That’s horses, I guess,” he said. “I’m more disappointed for Cran, who went from being so excited when he first worked the horse to having to scratch him.

“That’s the positive for me, the fact that Cran was in awe of him after he worked him with Republican Party last week.

“We have to move on now and, thankfully, there’s quite a few more good races for him (in NZ) and plenty of time to have him right for them.

“Hopefully he’ll get the chance to show his best through those races.”

The next target is the $110,000 Group 1 Taylor Mile at Alexandra Park on April 26, followed by the $110,000 Group 1 Messenger at the same track a week later.

Should he stay in NZ beyond those, Rock N Roll Doo could switch to standing-start racing for the $NZ50,000 Roy Purdon Memorial on May 17 and the $250,000 Group 1 Auckland Cup a week later.

Rock N Roll Doo’s scratching almost certainly means Kango will move into the Barrett Homes slot for the Race By Grins, leaving the Dalgety-trained Republican Party as the “emergency”.

by Adam Hamilton, for Harness Racing Australia