CHRISTMAS can't come early enough for Danny Curran.
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The Bendigo trainer is hoping to have his crack filly The Big Dance back in action after a setback.
Spring carnival plans for The Big Dance were put on hold after the three-year-old crashed through the running rail at Moonee Valley on August 1.
It was only the filly's second race start. Her first was an impressive victory in the $250,000 VOBIS Gold Rush (1200m) at the Bendigo Jockey Club in March.
Curran said The Big Dance was back in light work, but as indicated soon after the race day mishap, she would see no action during the spring carnival.
"All things being well, she might have a run just before Christmas," he said.
"While you don't like to see any horse get injured, it might be the best thing in the long run.
"She needed to grow and mature - and the spring has already been rugged for a lot of horses."
A handful of star horses have already been ruled out of the Spring Carnival after succumbing to injury, most notably Alpine Eagle, who was being aimed for the Group 1 Caulfield Cup-W.S. Cox Plate double, and last year’s Golden Slipper winner Vancouver.
Curran said he was watching with interest how rival three-year-old fillies were performing and believed The Big Dance would be fresh when others were wearing out.
The sprinter finished fourth in his second career start behind the highly rated, Ciaron Maher-trained Petis Filous, after failing to handle the tight Moonee Valley track.
The Big Dance scored national headlines in March following his win in the Gold Rush, about 12 months after the filly was purchased by Curran for just $750.
The filly narrowly missed breaking the Bendigo track record in winning by the best part of three lengths.
“She’s certainly got a lot of people interested in how she is going,” Curran said.
Curran said three-year-gelding Welcome Stryker would also miss the spring carnival, returning to the paddock for a spell after his seventh at Ballarat on September 20.
“I was very happy with his run. He’s going to be a good horse, but he’s a slow maturing horse,” he said.
Curran has a pair of two-year-olds in work, with one having his first jump out on Wednesday morning.
Meanwhile, racing returns to Kyneton today, with the first of eight races at 1.18pm.
The meeting will be the Kyneton and Hanging Rock Racing Club's last before the XXXX Gold 2015 Kyneton Cup on November 4.