Group 1 Sportingbet Vic Peters Classic winner Belfast Johnny will spend six weeks on the sidelines and trainer Troy Vella admits it will be a battle to have him ready for the heats of the Group 1 Macro Meats Golden Easter Egg at Wentworth Park on April 5.
"He had a solo trial at Richmond last Monday to get him ready for the Richmond Derby and he tore his calf muscle on the inside back leg and sprung a toe on his outside back leg," Vella said.
"So he'll be out for a good six weeks which is disappointing. It has come at a bad time with some nice races coming up.
"He didn't have a lot of luck in the Gold Plate final at Bulli but was really flying at the time.
"Even in his trial at Richmond the injury occurred going through the catching pen the first time and he still ran 30.80.
"It's just bad luck and bad timing, but I haven't completely given up hope on having him back for the Easter Egg.
"I'm hoping if I can have him ready that he will come back the way he did after a break last time.
"He likes a break and he did have a hard three months there when I travelled with him."
Vella is hoping for better luck when he heads to Wentworth Park tonight with littermate Belfast Kaiser, who will start from box six in race six on the program.
"Belfast Kaiser doesn't seem to do his best racing at Wentworth Park but I think it is just a confidence thing," Vella said.
"When I saw a race programmed for greyhounds with 2-5 wins I thought that would be perfect for him.
"It will be a bit different to racing the best dogs which he has done at Wentworth Park."
Belfast Kaiser is coming off an impressive 30.67 Richmond win and Vella said he will be a lot better for the run.
"It was a good run as he was fresh off the lead after contesting a heat of the Gold Plate at Bulli and I expected him to get a bit tired at the end, but it shows what he can do," he said.
"Of course he's not as good as his brother but he can run a bit, and has been very unlucky in some of his races."
Click here for tonight's Wentworth Park fields.
