Rothfire requires leg surgery as career hangs in the balance

Rob Heathcote had his worst fears confirmed when his racing manager Melanie Sharpe sent him photos of Rothfire’s swollen leg on Sunday morning.

Rothfire’s trainer Rob Heathcote. Picture: Tara Croser.

Queensland star Rothfire is out of The Everest and could need a year or more off racing after fracturing his sesamoid bone in Saturday’s Group I Golden Rose.

Trainer Rob Heathcote fears it is possible the Group I JJ Atkins winner might never return to his brilliant best.

There is also the chance he may not race again.

X-rays taken yesterday revealed the fracture in his near fore fetlock after Heathcote’s travelling racing manager Melanie Sharpe noticed swelling when she first saw the horse yesterday morning.

“There’s a detached fragment that needs surgery to take it out,” Heathcote said.

“It’s still early days, the surgeons will know more once they have him on the table.”

But Heathcote is resigned to Rothfire needing a year off racing.

It’s a far cry from the excitement and expectation of last week. A handful of Rothfire’s owners went to Sydney – knowing they would have to quarantine on return – to watch the Golden Rose.

The others gathered at Eagle Farm’s Phantom Meeting with family and friends to cheer the horse on.

Ecstasy of him leading into the home straight soon turned to angst when rivals gathered him in and then heartbreak to learn of his injury.

“We’ve had a wonderful journey for a short period of time and it all comes crashing down. One misstep, that’s all it took,” Heathcote said.

“The horse was perfectly sound going into the race. He was there to extend, he had already put a margin on the field, he faltered at the 200m and no doubt that’s where the fracture occurred.

“Full credit to the horse to still drive him to the line for a fourth in a Group 1 race.”

Heathcote, who extended his congratulations to Team Hawkes for training the quinella of Ole Kirk and North Pacific, feared the worst going to bed Saturday night.

“I’ve been in racing for a long time, injuries happen,” Heathcote said.

“But this injury happened to come on the biggest stage in Australian racing and three weeks before The Everest.

“We will get over it.”

Co-trainer Michael Hawkes said Ole Kirk’s next run was likely to be in the Caulfield Guineas, but there remains a slim chance connections might deviate to The Everest.

Part-owner Neil Werrett is an Everest slot holder and the possibility was discussed on Saturday night.

The Courier-Mail