Salisbury was sent to the barriers as the $3.90 favourite in the restricted race over 1600 metres at Bendigo, but failed to finish the $16,000 race.

Scott was using the flat run as part of Salisbury’s preparation for the big jumps season, which starts next month.

“Salisbury seemed to be all right until he went amiss near the 600-metre mark,” the Warrnambool Grand Annual Steeplechase-winning trainer said.

“Jockey Jack Hill just had to pull Salisbury up because he had bled from both nostrils. He's not allowed to race for three months under the rules of race because of the bleed, but we've decided to retire him.”

The seven-year-old won his maiden hurdle at Casterton in July last year before failing to finish in a hurdle at Bendigo, but Scott said Salisbury was showing immense talent at the jumping caper.

“Salisbury was only learning about jumping last season,” he said.

“He had really developed in the off-season. We had done a lot of schooling with him. I had races like Warrnambool’s Brierly and Grand Annual Steeplechase on the agenda.

“He undoubtedly would have been a better chaser than hurdler. I feel sorry for jumps jockey Braidon Small he had done a lot of schooling on Salisbury. We’ll find him a good home. He's a lovely natured horse.”

Scott, who won the 1984 Warrnambool Grand Annual Steeplechase with Rocky Affair, had some good luck at Ballarat on Sunday when Stellarized won a restricted race over 2000 metres. “Stellarized has won his last two on the flat,” he said. “I've got him going pretty good. He's an honest type of horse. He's destined for a jumps campaign.

“He had one start in a hurdle race last year. We've done a lot of schooling with him over the summer months and he's going well over the jumps.”

Stellarized has won six of his 30 starts and earnt more than $125,000 in stakemoney for his connections.

RACING lost one of its quiet achievers with the passing of respected Hamilton trainer Tony Laidlaw on Sunday.

Laidlaw handed in his trainers’ licence in November 2015 after training for more than 52 years.

Former top local jockey Neville Wilson, who rode countless winners for the  stable over the years, said it was always a pleasure to ride for Laidlaw.

“Tony was a very astute trainer and a top bloke,” Wilson said.

“I was fortunate to have ridden lots of winners for Tony. He had the knack of getting his horses fit and placing them in races they could win.”

Laidlaw rated Groomed (20 wins), Sultans Hope (16), Jdiga (12), Chief Wild Eagle (10) and Tarrington as the best horses he trained. Deepest sympathies to the Laidlaw family at this sad time.

EJAYTEE may be small but she's got a good motor, according to trainer Daniel Bowman.

The Warrnambool-based trainer made the comments after Ejaytee scored an impressive victory over Perfect Command and Gambler’s Girl in a restricted race over 1100 metres at Ballarat on Sunday.

“We've only had her for the two runs,” Bowman said. “She got her tongue over the bit at Terang, so we knew there was improvement in her. I think she appreciated the slow rating of the track. She loves wet ground.

“We’ll try and space her runs to get her into races over the winter.”

The four-year-old mare had won two of her nine starts. Bowman – who paid $80,000 for a Smart Missile colt at the yearling sales in Sydney last week – said he was hoping to make a couple of purchases at the Inglis Melbourne Yearling Sales, which start on Sunday.

TERANG Racing Club, which hosts its annual cup meeting on April 9 is hoping to bring back jumps races next year.

Club manager Karen Van Kempen said the addition of a hurdle and steeplechase were on the agenda for the 2018 cup program.

“We’re keen to have jumps races back at Terang,” Van Kempen said.

“We’re going to have jumps trials at Terang on May 25.

“That should give us the all clear to have a hurdle and steeplechase race at the 2018 cup meeting.

“It would be about seven years ago when we staged our last jumps races.”

WARRNAMBOOL trainer Aaron Purcell knew his former galloper St Jean had virtually no hope of winning the $100,000 Avondale Cup at Ellerslie on Saturday, after the track was rated slow.

St Jean, which won the City Of Auckland Cup last month, was trying to win the middle leg of a three-race $1 million bonus in the Avondale Cup before attempting to take out the $500,000 Auckland Cup on March 11.

“St Jean is just a duffer on wet ground,” Purcell said.

“We gave him a run in the Warrnambool Cup a couple of years ago on a wet track and he never went a yard. He will now push ahead to the Auckland Cup.”

Purcell was forced to transfer St Jean to top New Zealand trainer Donna Logan after the stallion continually tested positive to non-steroid, anti-inflammatory drug ibuprofen. The drug was administered when St Jean was recovering from a tendon injury.