Injury sidelines boom youngster

BRAD Hewitt is focusing on a positive out of the devastating setback to Australia’s best three-year-old pacer Hollywood Strip.

The New South Wales Derby winner, who was $1.50 favourite to add tomorrow night’s Group One Queensland Derby to his CV, fractured a pastern bone during pace work in preparation for the race yesterday morning.

Hollywood Strip had surgery later that day and three screws inserted in the leg.

“It’s a straight fracture and that’s a good diagnosis,” Hewitt said. With pasterns, you hold your breath to see how bad the break is, some can shatter, but this is a fairly straight-forward break.

“I’d much rather a break like this than a soft tissue (tendon) injury.

“I haven’t gone into the specifics of recovery, but these usually take four to six months before you can start any work with the horse again.

“It’s a huge blow just days out from being a hot favourite to win a Derby, they’re so hard to come by, let alone the other big races we now miss this season like the TAB Eureka.

“But now we focus on getting him back and looking at the big four-year-old races.”

Hollywood Strip has raced 15 times for 13 wins and two thirds.

The latest third was the best run of his career when he did all the work outside champion mare Captains Mistress and still finished close-up in the Group One Rising Sun on July 4.

“He’s the best horse I’ve had, so much talent,” Hewitt said.

Hewitt still has two cracks at Group One glory at Albion Park tomorrow night,  the best of them with brilliant three-year-old filly Sparkling Sea, trained by his father David.

“She’s going to be very hard to beat despite the back row,” Hewitt said. “She was awesome winning last Friday night.

“With Hollywood Strip out, I’ll drive my other horse Palladium in the Derby now and he’s got a good chance in what’s now a very open race.”

• ADAM HAMILTON, HRA Media