Centre Pivot, which appears in the Sam Kavanagh charges as one of the horses he allegedly administered cobalt to, has been cleared to return to the races for new trainer John Sargent at Rosehill on Saturday.
Sargent believes Centre Pivot, which has won five of his 12 starts including four of his past five before a spell when under the care of Kavanagh, has the potential to go on with the job and win in black-type company.
But first he had to have the son of More Than Ready cleared to race by stewards.
"He went to Randwick a couple of weeks ago and was tested for cobalt and it came back clear," Sargent said. "I can't see any effects of it. He has bad feet, which we have to be careful with, but that is something we can manage."
Kavanagh will next week face 24 charges relating to cobalt, race-day treatments and one of conduct prejudicial to the interests of racing.
Sargent is more concerned with getting Centre Pivot back to the races and although 1300 metres is short of his best he expects him to race well.
"He is in a nice space to go back to the races and we are looking at some good races for him down the track," Sargent said. "He is going to get better over a mile and more.
"He has shown me enough already to say we can target certain races with a bit of confidence."
Sargent will decide if his other interesting runner, Kiwi Eletist, will start in the final race on Saturday after he was delayed in Auckland for an extra day earlier in the week.
He joins the Sargent team from Glen Old after winning his past two on heavy tracks at home.
"There isn't that much left for him in New Zealand at this time of year and Glen asked me to take him over and see if he can measure up here," Sargent said.
"He has been winning weaker races in New Zealand and with that delay in getting over here we might wait another week.
"He handles wet tracks, so it is the right time of year for him to be out here."
It has been a big week for Sargent after Omerous, which was runner-up in the Tulloch Stakes before running off when set to challenge in the Australian Derby, was sold to Hong Kong for a seven-figure sum.
"The money was too good to be turning down. It is disappointing to see him go because he is a nice horse but that's racing," Sargent said.
The top end of Sargent's spring team will be part of an exceptional group of barrier trials at Randwick on Friday. Australian Oaks winner Gust Of Wind will start her road towards the first Tuesday in November, while Thunder Lady and Kirramosa, which has only had four starts since winning the VRC Oaks in 2014, will also have hit outs.
"Gust Of Wind is a stayer and the Melbourne Cup is the perfect race for her. This is the starting point and we just want to see her have a nice trial. There is a long way to go with her," Sargent said.
"Thunder Lady will probably go to the Metropolitan and then we will look at Melbourne. She was up there with the best fillies of last year and looks a little stronger.
"Kirramosa is looking pretty good and she has a real sprint in the her legs. I'm thinking of a race like the Epsom for her before Melbourne."
