Champion miler Able Friend has once again fallen foul of the wet all-weather training surface and suffered a minor setback last week that will see him bypass his scheduled first assignment of the season on October 1.

In a remarkable echo of an injury to his left hind leg suffered in the second week of September last year, Able Friend's setback came after a light gallop last Wednesday morning.

On a very rain-affected all-weather surface, Joao Moreira took the Horse Of The Year around a very gentle 400m in even time, according to the Jockey Club's training times, and the gelding isn't listed as having trained since.

"It's incredible. Last year, the same sort of thing happened and almost at exactly the same time of the season, working three-quarter pace on the outside of the all-weather track," Moore said yesterday, confirming the problem.

"As much as I love the all-weather as a training track, we know we have to be careful with these big boys when it is wet because it gets slippery underneath. When Darren Beadman was riding here, he always urged caution on horses that are lengthening or pulling up on it when it's in that state because he could feel it moving around beneath the horses' feet."

Last year's incident saw Able Friend miss training for eight days and Moore said yesterday afternoon that his vet was still assessing the extent of the setback.

"I'll know more tomorrow. Today we're just trying to isolate what the problem is and we'll go from there," he said.

However significant the issue turns out to be, Moore has confirmed that Able Friend's programme has changed as a result of it.

Able Friend had been pencilled in to resume racing in the Group Three Celebration Cup (1,400m) on National Day, October 1, and he would reappear now on October 25.

That's the same meeting where Able Friend resumed with a fourth to Aerovelocity in 2014 in the Premier Bowl over 1,200m but Moore said he plans to start him off this time in the Group Two Oriental Watch Sha Tin Trophy (1,600m).