On Tuesday, Darren Hyde was one of the trainers preparing himself for a crack at the Country Championships Qualifier at Dubbo Turf Club and a possible ticket to a $500,000 race at Royal Randwick.
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But by Wednesday he was left to start planning for next year’s event.
Hyde nominated Eyesaw for Sunday’s $150,000 Western Racing Association heat but a call from stewards ruined all his plans.
Eyesaw is ineligible for the event as Hyde didn’t lodge the stable return prior to the October 1 cut-off.
The lodgement date of the stable return is the sole determinant of the eligibility date in the series.
The gelding made the move to Hyde’s Dubbo stables in late September, having previously been trained by Brett Thompson at Gulgong.
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“It’s a bit disappointing because as I said to the stewards in Sydney he came from Brett so he’s just a country horse,” Hyde said, before explaining why he missed the cut-off.
“Back then it was never in our minds to go to the Championships. It’s only been the last couple of months where he’s gone well and we thought we’d give him a crack.
“The last four or five weeks we’d had him ticking over nicely and six weeks ago I said to the owners we were six weeks away from the one (race) we want, it was just the way the racing program turned out.
“It was all rolling in his favour leading up to Dubbo but now he can’t be there.”
Eyesaw will now contest the Class 2 Showcase Handicap (1200m) on Sunday while Hyde will also have Westlink and last-start winner Recital in action.
Westlink is one start back from close to a year-long spell and Hyde already has high hopes for the promising gelding, who will contest Sunday’s Maiden Showcase Handicap (1000m).
“He’ll be my Championships horse next year,” he said.
“He’s only a three-year-old now.
“He was still a colt (when he was spelled) but he’s come back a gelding in really good order and has grown a lot.
“He ran a nice fifth at Orange after drawing an outside gate and he attacked the line well.”
Recital will race in the Class 1 Showcase Handicap (1400m) and Hyde is pleased with the gelding after he scored his first win at Coonamble last start.
The Eyesaw drama continues a run of tough luck for Hyde. The trainer has seen two of his star gallopers, multiple cup winner Cardiff Prince and Found At Last, forced to retire due to injury in recent years.
Final fields for Sunday’s meeting are released on Thursday.