Graeme Anderson was sure sending his stable star, Titan Banner, to the All Stars Stables run by Mark Purdon and Natalie Rasmussen was the best possible move.
But, as the pacer's part-owner and former trainer gets ready to cheer for his charge in the 4yr-old male pacing division of the Harness Jewels at Cambridge on Saturday, he has revealed he thought the dream was dashed two weeks after he sent the gelding to Rolleston in April.
"His heart rate wasn't a hundy [100%] when I had him. There was something niggly that I couldn't quite catch,'' Anderson said.
"Mark rung up after a couple of weeks and I said 'what are you going to ask?'. He said 'I think he's broken a leg'. But what had happened is he had worked him and he came off the track and he couldn't walk. He actually had a massive abscess burst out of his hind foot.''
So the move north worked on two fronts. Not only is the winner of 10 races now in the care of the best trainers in Australasia, but moving from the sand at Westwood Beach to the All Stars track for his work unearthed the problem.
"He said what has been going on is that the beach has been hiding this and we've got up here on to a firmer track. So it came at the right time - obviously it's been holding him back a little bit.
"As I say, [Purdon] rang me up and told me he had broken his leg. So that's how bad it was. That was a traumatic afternoon waiting for the results.''
Titan Banner missed only a day of work after the abscess burst.
His debut for the All Stars Stables attracted attention when he finished second to Christen Me on May 14, despite hitting a knee down the straight.
The addition of an overcheck and some minor shoeing changes made the difference a week later in the Winter Cup, as he survived a torrid mid-race attack from Mighty Flying Mac before sitting outside Christen Me over the last 600m to beat the reigning horse of the year.
"It was always going to happen,'' Anderson said.
"He's gone to another level - they're masters at what they do,'' he said of the All Stars team.
Anderson will be with his fellow owners at Cambridge on Saturday in the unfamiliar position of watching Titan Banner with no training responsibilities for the day.
"[Purdon] is the trainer and the driver now and he's one of the best in the world at both of those jobs. I'm very relaxed about it. We're just going to go up and enjoy the occasion.''
Anderson said sending Titan Banner to the country's leading stable was "the easiest business decision I ever made''.
"He [Purdon] can carry on from here with him and take him wherever he wants to take him. Geographically and staff-wise, it's not practical for me to travel all over the place with him.''
The one factor on Saturday which will worry punters who backed him in from $21 to $3 is the outside draw on the front line, while Field Marshal starts from barrier 1. But that doesn't worry Anderson.
"I'm thinking he'll mosey on out and get a three-wide drag from that draw round to the death, and I think they'll all be waiting for him to get to the death and give them cover.
"I would prefer that to 1 [on the front line] or 1 on the second row, that's for sure.''
The horse:
Titan Banner
4 g Art Major - Corporate Banner
Record: 26-10-5-4 ($84,383)
Owners: Graeme Anderson, Dave McHugh, John Cheesman, Janet O'Connor, Pauline Gillan, Heather Blakely.
Breeder: Banner Bloodstock Ltd
