Over more than 30 years in training, Mick Price has encountered just one other horse with the identical condition that sidelined Reserve Bank from racing for nearly 12 months.
The Goodwood victor is scheduled to make his comeback in the Group 1 The Galaxy (1100m) at Rosehill this Saturday, having rejoined the stable for a spring campaign after staff noted worrying conduct.
“I walked in at four o’clock one morning and the girls said, ‘come and have a look at this’,” Price said.
“He was absolutely shaking life a leaf on the spot, which was really unusual.
“We couldn’t work it out initially. We thought it might have been a vertebrae problem, but it turned out to be Ross River virus based on his blood picture.”
A mosquito-transmitted disease commonly linked to humans, Ross River virus impacts horses too, causing fever, swollen joints, and fatigue.
Price has witnessed it in only one previous trainee and notes that while that runner failed to regain peak condition, Reserve Bank’s recuperation appears far brighter with encouraging indicators.
“It was a horse called Blazing Harry. He came back and he did not race well, and he didn’t look to bloom,” Price said.
“I don’t have much experience or knowledge with it. I don’t know what to expect. But Blazing Harry, he didn’t have a lot of life looking at him, and this horse looks beautiful.
“I think he just needs racing.”
This four-year-old put together three stakes successes last autumn, capped by his Goodwood triumph.
Although boasting a sharp fresh record, Price anticipates the runner will benefit from the outing this Saturday and harbours doubts over the low barrier draw at gate two.
“The horse is going super, but I can’t picture how he wins a The Galaxy from that inside gate, first-up after a long time,” he said.
“He’s a four-year-old bull. I’m just looking for him to run well and please, and then I’ll work out a program.”
“He just needs to go to the races to bring him on.”
Damian Lane will ride Reserve Bank, currently held at $8.50 in a competitive betting market.
Explore the racing odds on Australian betting sites ahead of The Galaxy at Rosehill.
