Rebel Fitz© Photo Healy Racing
Rebel Fitz will be given a winter break after failing to fire at Listowel last month.
Mick Winters' stable star returned from a lengthy absence at the Galway Festival and looked likely to make a successful comeback until tiring from the final fence.
He was an odds-on favourite to gain compensation in the Slan Abhaile Flat race in County Kerry, but trailed home a well-beaten sixth and Winters feels the Galway run may have taken its toll on his charge.
"I'd say it's the only time he's ever been out of the money (at Listowel)," Winters told At The Races.
"We were probably over-pampering and over-minding him. He had a hard race in Galway, it probably left a mark on him and he was too fresh going into the race.
"We scanned the knee joints and there's a small chip of bone floating near the front of the joint. It shouldn't make any difference, but we'll get it taken out and start afresh next spring.
"We'll bring him in in January or February and see from there. The trouble is, with his rating, he won't go into an easy race.
"It would be lovely to let him sit in something handy, but we'll play it by ear.
"For the horse himself, we don't want to see him running down the field, so we'll put him away and bring him back right, rather than running him and maybe demoralising him."
