Gordon Richards confirms Gytrash Kingsford Smith bound after overcoming transport debacle

CONNECTIONS of Gytrash will pay the late entry fee for the Group 1 Kingsford-Smith Cup on Tuesday with trainer Gordon Richards swiftly putting the horse transport saga behind him.

Richards confirmed the Group 1 winning speedster would take his place in the field this weekend after completing a gallop going the Queensland way of running at Morphettville on Monday morning.

Question marks surrounded his participation in the race with Queensland Health officials originally banning a transport flight from Melbourne from arriving in Queensland, before backing down on Sunday afternoon after a week-long ordeal.

“Everything is good, he had a gallop on the grass going the other way this morning and barring anything happening in the meantime he will be going on the plane,” Richards said.

“He galloped with another horse and I felt he went good.”

A $40,000 purchase by Richards, Gytrash has gone on to take connections on a whirlwind ride, including a third in last year’s The Everest which netted them $1.3 million.

Gordon Richards after Gytrash’s win. Photo: Mark Evans/Getty ImagesSource:Getty Images

“He has been a bit life changing for a lot of people actually, we can only hope it hasn’t finished yet – if it does, so be it,” Richards said.

“He’s certainly no worse than what he was last year. He had the chip in his knee and all that but to me he seems as good as he was.”

Resuming off a seven-month break due to bone chips in his knees, Gytrash was solid in the Group 1 Goodwood in Adelaide earlier in the month.

With an eye towards The Everest later this year, Richards said he was keen to get an extra run in to best prepare him.

“Just getting one run out of him was the main reason for coming, I guess you’d have to say it was a bit of an afterthought,” he said.

“The race is there, you don’t get too many weight-for-age Group 1’s that he can run in.

“It fits in well and he handles 1300m, he did in the Yes Yes Yes so we don’t want to die wondering.”

While Gytrash will take the flight he was originally scheduled to, Richards said the ongoing saga had him thinking outside the box.

“If that had come to light straight after the Goodwood, I may well have put him straight on a float and taken him over a couple of days,” he said.

“As it turns out, we left him until past this weekend so if it didn’t happen, it would not have happened.

“It doesn’t matter now, it will happen. Nothing’s changed for him.

“He is a good traveller, we took him up to Sydney via the back roads to avoid Victoria and he never moved.”

Originally published asRichards confirms Gytrash Kingsford-Smith bound

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