Reigning Horse of the Year Designs On Rome will miss the Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup next week in favour of surgery on Tuesday to remove a bone chip from his fetlock.
Designs On Rome was a significant absence from the Champions & Chater entries when they were published on Monday and John Moore said the champion middle distance galloper was done for the season, but would be back.
"I'm not concerned longer term. He had a little bit of filling in a joint and we had that examined and X-rayed and he has a small bone chip there that has to be removed," Moore said yesterday from Brisbane.
"So Designs On Rome will have that operation on Tuesday and then rest until next season. But I'm very confident that he will be back as good as ever."
Moore still provided four of the 11 entries, with Same World, Queen Mother Memorial Cup winner Helene Happy Star, Harbour Master and Dominant, returning from his Sydney sojourn, representing the yard in the final Group One of the season.
Moore was taking a non-committal approach, meanwhile, to whether Singapore International Cup winner Dan Excel might visit England this summer, but owner David Boehm seemed definite.
"That would make it a very hard campaign, to go to England or Australia, then to come back here, it wouldn't be ideal, but we will make a decision in the next few weeks," Boehm said.
"I haven't spoken to John yet, but I suspect we are going to keep it local. Dan Excel is a rising eight-year-old and it is a lot to ask to undertake those big trips and expect everything to go right.
"Singapore is perfect for him, and without speaking to John yet, our first aim would be for International Day and the Hong Kong Cup in December and then come back to Singapore."
Boehm said Dan Excel had shown a special affinity with Kranji and Singapore, not only winning the past two SIA Cups, but finishing second to Military Attack in the 2013 edition.
"Racing Victoria has been in touch, but we found out how hard it is to prepare for Melbourne - Sha Tin is closed at a critical time - and England is a long way away as well," he said.
"I never say never and anything is possible."
Also unlikely to stray too far from Hong Kong is KrisFlyer Sprint winner, Aerovelocity, despite winning two overseas Group Ones in quick succession.
"No chance he'll go to England, we'll keep him in Asia," said trainer Paul O'Sullivan.
"The Sprinters Stakes doesn't count for the million dollar bonus because he has already won in Japan - winning again there doesn't advance his cause - so we'll probably focus on the Hong Kong Sprint in December.
"Let's let the dust settle, the excitement die down a bit and make a proper decision when everyone has come back to Hong Kong."
