Wednesday, 18 April 2018: Dreams of a second consecutive Chairman’s Trophy were shattered for Forever Young’s connections after the Group 1-winning galloper fractured his fetlock in trackwork on Tuesday morning.

Forever Young

Trainer Kuah Cheng Tee, who was riding his prized galloper during the strong canter, said he felt nothing untoward with last year’s Group 1 Singapore Guineas winner, until he was found to be lame back at the stables.

X-rays revealed that the US-bred four-year-old by Run Away And Hide had sustained a hairline fracture to his near fore fetlock. Such injuries are not life or career-threatening, but they call for a long time on the sidelines – which pretty much spelled the end of his Chairman’s Trophy, and possibly Kranji Mile campaign.

“It’s terrible. Just this morning, he was raring to go, and completed his strong canter very well,” said Kuah.



“He trotted back fine, but at the stables, we found out he was lame. I sent him for X-ray and they detected a hairline fracture to his left fetlock.



“He’s going for surgery this week. They will insert a screw in his fetlock.



“The vets told me such injuries are not career-ending. He can come back one day, but he will need at least two months’ rest.



“It’s such a pity as he was coming along well and he was supposed to go for a barrier trial on Thursday.”



This time around, the Hong Kong-owned galloper was meant to do a lot more than the easy barrier trial he got last week (distant last on April 10), as a last hit-out before the Group 2 Chairman’s Trophy (1600m) on April 27.



Kuah said he had also entered Forever Young  for the $1.5 million Group 1 Kranji Mile (1600m) on May 26, but all these grand plans have obviously been abandoned now.



“The Chairman’s Trophy and Kranji Mile are over for him, but fingers crossed, he’ll recover and come back,” said Kuah.



“It’s a big blow to me and his owner (Hong Kong’s Wong Chi Tat), but that’s racing.”



Forever Young handed the third-year trainer his first Group success in the Singapore Guineas in May last year at his first full year of training before he went on to claim the Chairman’s Trophy, then run over 1800m, three months later.



He has not saluted again since, but did run a bottler when second to Clarton Super in the Group 3 Fortune Bowl (1400m) on February 17.