Group One winner Prowess faced some setbacks before finally making her season debut in an exhibition gallop alongside stablemate Contemplation at Matamata.
An abscess and a stone bruise had hindered her earlier attempts to get back on track.
“She banged a hock a bit over a month ago. It was treated aggressively as well as we could, but it just didn't resolve, so we had to take more drastic measures, which meant she had a bandage on and couldn't work for five days, so that stopped us from getting to her first-up target,” explained Robert Wellwood, who trains Prowess in partnership with Roger James.
Despite these challenges, Prowess is now back in action.
“We got over that, and she was meant to trial at Taupo last Friday prior to the races and unfortunately stood on a stone and put a puncture into her sole,” said Wellwood.
:We got the farrier there and tidied it up, and she is right now. We have had niggly little setbacks. They haven't been major things and have only stopped us for three or four days, but it has been at pretty crucial times.”
Her connections were relieved to see her back on the track, and Wellwood expressed his satisfaction with her recent work.
“We were very happy with the work she did. She has had a good blow from that, and it is going to bring her along nicely.”
However, due to the disrupted schedule, Prowess's plans have shifted. Originally intended for the Group 1 Cox Plate at The Valley, her trainers have adjusted their strategy.
“At this stage, her first-up run will be on October 7 at Hawera in the Breeders' Stakes (Group 3, 1400m), but if the weather is terrible, there is a fillies and mares 1400m race at Flemington on the same day.
“We would rather stay here and give her her first-up run, and the weight-for-age conditions suit her better weight-wise.
“We can then bring her back to her box for two to three weeks before we look to put her on a plane.”
Despite the challenges, the goal is to have Prowess compete during the Melbourne Cup Carnival, with a potential target being the 2000m Champions Stakes (Group 1) on the last day of the carnival.
Wellwood also had positive remarks about Contemplation.
“He had his first-up run and still looked quite pretty when he came back from it, so it was a good opportunity for him today to have a good hit-out on a good surface.”
He mentioned that there are multiple options for Contemplation in the coming weeks, with a potential plan to head down to Christchurch for the New Zealand Cup (Group 3, 3200m).