The Geoff Woodruff yard have operated on Louis The King in an attempt to not only resolve his racing issues but also to preserve his stud career.

Meanwhile, they are also happy with their Gr 2 Betting World 1900 candidate Killua Castle.

It is believed that Louis The King’s below par recent form was due to him pulling a testicle upward, which caused a lot of pain, so this testicle has now been removed.

Killua Castle will be fit from his recent runs and this big-hearted handicapper will travel down to KZN today (Thursday). He is the joint best-weighted horse in the 1900 according to official merit ratings and is drawn well in six over a suitable distance with Donavan Mansour up.

He has finished second last in both of his previous two outings at the tight Greyville circuit. However, in January he easily won the Gr 3 London News Handicap over 1800m on the tight Turffontein Inside course and that dispelled the notion that he only ever ran to his best on the galloping Turffontein Standside course. He also appears better on fast ground, so could well do better on Frday night than in his two most recent runs, which were both in soft going at Turffontein.

By Dave Thiselton

Photo: Killua Castle (JC Photo)