Harry retired Kazal gently coming back

Kazal, almost a year off the track since trailing home in the Alo Duffin Memorial Galmoy Hurdle at Gowran on Thyestes Day, is in training with a view to going over fences but his stable companion at Eoin Griffin's Slieverue, south Co. Kilkenny base, Academy Sir Harry has been retired.

Griffin had the following update this morning: "Kazal had his first wind operation the year he was third in the World Hurdle, I think it was the previous September and that was a success. He had another wind op after the Galmoy Hurdle last year and that didn't go according to plan.

"Complications set in and they had to go back in and undo what they did - it was actually touch and go with him for a while. He recovered from that but after the series of procedures, even though he is back in training now, we're more hopeful than confident that he'll make it back to the racetrack at some stage.

"If I don't think he is going to come back to compete at a significantly high enough level he'll be retired. We're not going to bring him back if we don't think he can do himself justice. He's been good enough to me in my career that we won't run him if we don't think everything is okay or that he can't compete at a high enough level.

"If he does come back we'll be going chasing with him. At the moment everything is fine. I think he is probably about 60/70 per cent fit. He is in good form but we're getting to the stage now where we'll be increasing how intensive his work is and the next probably six to eight weeks are going to be important for him.

"Unfortunately Academy Sir Harry has been retired. It is a big blow to a small yard like ourselves and especially given that he is in the same ownership as Kazal, it is an even bigger blow to Joe Comerford.

"Academy Sir Harry suffered an injury the last time he ran, when he won in Navan, fracturing a sesamoid and it hasn't healed sufficiently for him to go back into training. He went back into training alright but we had to call a halt there about a month ago and retire him.

"Unfortunately that's a big blow because he was a horse I held in high regard and I thought he was one that was going to go places.

"The Last Derby is on a bit of a break now. For whatever reason, we haven't found one as of yet, but on his last three runs left-handed he has been pulled up twice and run well below par the other time. He is a completely different horse going right-handed. We'll keep him going that way for the time being.

"He is on a bit of break at the moment and we'll probably be getting him ready for the Irish National and hope for a bit of nice ground around Easter. On his day he is a very nice horse.

"Baracas is one that we hope will come through. He looked promising when he won his bumper. He wasn't settling in his races but we think we have hit on something there. He won well enough for us the last day. He is on a break too as he is a good ground horse. Hopefully we'll get a bit of nice ground next summer and he'll be campaigned over hurdles.

"Yesterday was the only day since this cold snap hit that we didn't get our horses out. There was about three inches of snow on the ground. My main gallop has only been used one day in the last three weeks as it has been frozen solid. That's a woodchip gallop but I have a polytrack circle there that has been a Godsend.

"We're able to get the horses out on that, it's perfect. There seems to be a bit of a thaw this morning and hopefully now things might get back on track with Thurles."