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Dual Group 1 winner Atomic Force has this week commenced slow work in preparation for an early spring campaign after a minor leg complaint ruled him out of the Sydney Autumn carnival.
Photo by Racing and Sports
Atomic Force returned to Darren Smith's Newcastle stable this week where he began slow work four months after a successful raid of New Zealand and subsequent spell.
“He had a little bit of a hiccup when he came back from New Zealand with his near fore,” Smith said.
“Dean [Watt] and the Dynamic Team didn't want to take any risks with him so we gave him a good break and he has resumed work this week.”
“The horse looks really well and probably needed the break. He hadn't seen a rest for a good 12 months prior to his New Zealand trip so it didn't hurt him at all.”
The latest campaign of Atomic Force culminated with a Group 1 Railway Stakes win followed by a narrow second in the Telegraph Handicap at Trentham behind Guiseppina.
Smith suggested Atomic Force defending his Railway Stakes crown in 2013 wasn't out of the question with connections potentially plotting a similar campaign to the one their six-year-old embarked on this season.
“I think we are mainly looking at the same sort of program we did last year with him in the early spring and we might even be able to go back to New Zealand,” Smith told Sky Sports Radio.
The Darren Smith stable will saddle up two runners during the Scone Cup Carnival.
Debut winner Muzzle Blast will resume in the $50,000 Patinack Farm Class 1 Handicap (1100m) on the Friday while the lightly raced Welkom Gold will return from a lengthy spell in the Listed Prydes Easifeed Quality Handicap (1100m) the following day.