Ageless staying king Tornado Tears is a shock scratching from the Group 3 Sydney Cup (720m) at Wentworth Park on Friday night.
His bitterly disappointed trainer, Robert Britton, advised that the five-time G1 winner had stripped off a back pad winning a heat last week in 42.18sec.
“It’s very disappointing and I’d say he’ll be out for a few weeks… But we’ll have to see how it heals,” he said.
Britton’s hopes in the final now rest with Tornado Tears’ younger brother Here’s Tears, who clocked the fastest heat time defeating Victorian counterpart Sunset Bourbski by three and a half lengths in 42.16sec.
“I’m not as confident with Here’s Tears as I would have been with Tornado Tears,” Britton said. “He has to lead, as Sunset Bourbski has had the wood on him. I’m hoping he finds the front and pinches a break.”
Tornado Tears’ withdrawal is yet another frustrating interruption to his career, which is in the twilight zone given he turns five in February next year. In fact, he’s only started on 12 occasions in 2020.
Had he started in the Sydney Cup and won the $100,000 first prize, Tornado Tears – who has amassed $928,835 in prizemoney – would have joined an exclusive ‘millionaires club’.
Tornado Tears is currently the seventh highest stakes earner in the sport’s history – ironically behind the great Fanta Bale ($1,365,175) who was also trained by Britton.
