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One of last season’s leading three-year-old’s, Demonetization, will undergo a gelding operation later this week after disappointing his connections with his runner-up performance behind Gundown over a mile at Counties on Saturday.
“He’s got an appointment with the doctor,” trainer Nigel Tiley said.
“We’re going to geld him on Wednesday morning. He should have won that in a canter. He went past Seventeen Seventy and he just pulled himself up. It might have looked a great run, but it was far from what he is capable of doing.”
Demonetization won the Gr.2 Auckland Guineas (1600m) back in January and was subsequently installed a warm favourite for the Gr.1 New Zealand Derby (2400m) but failed to make the race due to a stress fracture of the fetlock.
Tiley believes in hindsight Demonetization should have been gelded during his recovery from that injury, but is hoping the operation will get the son of All Too Hard’s mind back on the job.
“We’ve discussed it in the past with him because he’s a big boy and he knows he’s a boy, he can be a bit of a handful at the races. He’s pretty handy with his front feet,” Tiley said.
“We probably should have made the call when he was out recuperating from when he had the injury with his hind leg, but Narendra (Balia, owner) was very keen to keep him a colt, but it was a conversation we had after his last start.
“I think that he’ll definitely have a change of heart, I know how good he is and I know what Jason Waddell (jockey) thinks of him. I think it is just something we have got to do.
“Hopefully we’ll be able to work him through it and just carry on and hopefully we’ll see a better horse.”
Demonetization is set to continue his preparation, but Tiley believes the logical targets for the soon-to-be gelding reside in autumn and spring next year.
“I’ll play it by ear. I’m not convinced he is at his best on top of the ground,” Tiley said. “We’ll press on with him, but I think he is a horse better suited to the autumn.
“If he comes back as good as what I think he is, he is a horse I’ll definitely be setting for the Livamol Classic (Gr.1, 2040m) in the spring.”
