Handsome Prince Sidelined With Injury

HANDSOME Prince will be off the scene until at least the New Year after suffering a dislocated toe in a heat of the TAB Melbourne Cup at Sandown Park on Friday night.

The TAB Million Dollar Chase winner finished two lengths fourth in his qualifier with a post race examination discovering a badly dislocated toe which will relegate the son of Sh Avatar to the sidelines for an extended period.

“It's as bad a dislocation as I've seen; how he finished as close as he did on Friday night I'll never know,” trainer Peter Lagogiane said.

“Treatment is already well underway and we'll get it x-rayed today (Monday) to find out the full extent of the damage.

“But we're looking at a few months off … best case scenario would be a return in the Paws Of Thunder at Wentworth Park in January but I'm not putting a time frame on it.

“When he's right he's right – we'll take our time.”

Lagogiane said he was further heartened by owner Shakeel Latimer's response to the injury news.

“It was refreshing to have an owner so supportive,” Lagogiane said.

“His main concern was with the health of the dog obviously but almost as important to him was making sure I was alright and reinforcing his support.

“The plan is now just to get Prince right and push ahead. But I'm extremely proud of his performance on Friday night even if we didn't get the result we were hoping for.”