3 minute read
Several overseas runners are engaged in the 2019 HKIR meeting, some with interesting backgrounds and genuine claims for victiry.
True Self
Willie Mullins isn't the name you'd expect to see in the declarations for the Hong Kong International Races. Thirteen time Irish National Hunt Champion Trainer, Mullins is synonymous with success over fences – this year, he recorded a first victory in the Cheltenham Gold Cup with Al Boum Photo. When increased prize money became the focus for long distance handicaps in the United Kingdom, the team shifted some of their attention to training high class dual-purpose horses. The results have exceeded everyone's expectations.
Versatile stable star Wicklow Brave's success in the Group One Irish St Leger in 2016 marked a new era for the trainer. He began to contest the long distance races with regularity and Low Sun's victory in the 2018 Cesarewitch Handicap at Newmarket foretold further success. A year later, Mullins repeated the coup in the Cesarewitch with 25/1 shot Stratum, pocketing a substantial winning prize fund of £215,000. It was becoming clear that the jumps trainer had the key ingredients for staying handicap success – well-treated hurdlers with a turn of foot.
Mullins' Hong Kong Vase contender True Self fits that mould. Sired by National Hunt stallion Oscar, the six-year-old mare was bought by the team to go hurdling. She won her first two starts in bumpers and made a winning debut over hurdles at Thurles. As the year progressed, it became clear that her skills could be used in a different sphere with Mullins' commenting "she's confounded us from the very beginning as she was bought as a jumping mare and I couldn't believe the size of her when she arrived. She's proved to be incredible and a little bit of a freak".
True Self was switched to the flat in July 2018 and racked up a string of wins, culminating in listed success at Newmarket in November. She returned for the 2019 season with another listed win in Gowran Park and finished a credible sixth in the Ebor Handicap before being transported to Australia. The mare flourished in the warmer conditions and gave Willie Mullins' his first success on the continent when dominating under a hands and heels ride in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Flemington.
Although a tilt at the highly competitive Hong Kong Vase wouldn't seem an obvious route for a National Hunt bred mare, the trainer remarked: "I'd like to aim her at the Melbourne Cup next year but the jockeys who ride her feel she could drop in trip rather than go up". With the National Hunt season in full swing in Ireland, it seems unlikely that Mullins will make the trip over to see his flat horse at Sha Tin. Win or lose; the wily trainer has discovered the recipe for success internationally and it may not be the last time an ex-hurdler competes in the illustrious Hong Kong Vase.
Called To The Bar
Called To The Bar will be Pia Brandt's first runner at the Hong Kong International Races and the journey to Sha Tin has been a personal one. Although the horse carries the blue and white silks of Fair Selinia Ltd, better known for their ownership of champion French race-mare Pride, Brandt continues to hold a share of her prolific stable star.
Throughout the week leading up to the Hong Kong Vase, Pia Brandt has been solely responsible for Called To The Bar, riding the six-year-old in all of his track work. As a professional jockey in her native Sweden, Brandt is more than capable of the job. She remarked "He is normally my husband Joakim's horse but he couldn't come this week - he's coming for the race - so I had to take over. If I have to, I ride, but he's a lovely horse to be riding and he seems easier here than he is at home, so far". This is truly a family affair.
Pia Brandt is no stranger to international success. L'Amour De Ma Vie was the first to fly the flag for Brandt abroad – a surprise winner of the Group Two Balanchine Stakes at Meydan in 2014. The trainer celebrated a first Group One success when Mont Ormel took the 2016 renewal of the Grand
Prix de Paris. The horse was subsequently bought and transferred to Hong Kong, where he continued to win under his new racing name, Helene Charisma.
Back in France, Brandt reflects on a career best tally for the year: "It's been a good season. We had a Group 1 winner and we've had 53 in all, including a win in Dubai, so we're happy with that". Called To The Bar has contributed to that success with three victories, including an eye catching two length win in the Group Three Prix Gladiateur at Longchamp. In addition to the stable stalwart, Brandt can look forward to Group One winning juvenile Mkfancy who will be an exciting Classic prospect for the yard in 2020.
Called To The Bar will face his toughest test in Hong Kong. Pia Brandt has made no secret of the fact that he's had issues, commenting "if you look at him from in front you'd understand why - but with age he's become more solid and he loves training." Despite the uphill task, Called To The Bar isn't making up the numbers and Pia Brandt has produced surprise results internationally before.
Mount Everest
For the astute spectator, the naming of Coolmore's new recruits in early Spring gives an indication of the stable's prospects. Sue Magnier, John's wife, is responsible for identifying and appointing illustrious names for individuals with promise, assisted by the weekly reports from trainer Aidan O'Brien. Camelot is reported to have been stored by Sue Magnier for ten years prior to it's use for a 2009 Montjeu – the colt would exceed all expectations by winning the 2000 Guineas and the Derby in 2012.
The decision to name a racehorse after prolific historical figures does not guarantee success. After Ruler of The World's victory in the 2013 Derby, John Magnier said "Sometimes they get it right, sometimes they don't. We've had a lot of bad American presidents". Aforementioned American president John F Kennedy was unable to make an impact during his Classic campaign and currently stands at stud in Argentina. George Washington fared better on the track by winning the 2000 Guineas but his stud career was suspended due to fertility problems
A few names caught the eye from the 2016 crop naming ceremony: Anthony Van Dyck (subsequent Derby winner), Sergei Prokofiev (Group winning sprinter), Japan (multiple Group One winner) and Mount Everest, a son of Galileo. Mount Everest's dam Six Perfections was a champion race-mare in France and won the 2003 renewal of the Breeder's Cup Mile. She'd already produced a Group winning colt by Galileo called Yucatan and the 2016 full-brother was named with success in mind.
Mount Everest showed plenty of promise in his two-year-old campaign, scoring a maiden victory at the Curragh in August and ending the season with a second in the Group Two Beresford Stakes. It seemed that the Classics would be out of his reach in 2019 and the colt was given an easier task when winning the listed Trigo Stakes in October. Despite his lack of experience, Mount Everest formed part of a small but select team at the Breeder's Cup and ran a surprisingly improved race to finish sixth behind Bricks and Mortar in the Breeder's Cup Turf.
Although he hasn't reached the dizzying heights of success that his name would suggest, Mount Everest continues to improve. The experience at the Breeder's Cup will stand him in good stead for the bright lights of Sha Tin and a runner from Aidan O'Brien's stable can never be ignored on the international stage.
Edisa
Edisa may not be the stand-out contender in the Hong Kong Vase, but the reputation of her trainer Alain de Royer-Dupre may cause some spectators to look twice at the three-year-old filly. Royer-Dupre has an impressive record at the Hong Kong International Races with nine of twenty runners finishing in the first three. Back in his native France, Royer-Dupree has achieved success at the highest level and remains the first trainer for the Aga Khan – a position he has held since 1984.
A first victory at the Hong Kong International Races seemed likely when Alain de Royer-Dupre brought over his champion race-mare, Pride, for the Hong Kong Cup in 2005. She failed to close on local hero Vengeance Of Rain in the final stages and was beaten a neck at the line. Twelve months later, the mare hung on in the closing strides to score by a short head. In 2009, Royer-Dupree was to repeat the feat with the fast-finishing Daryakana in the Vase. He was delighted with the result: "She was always held up like that and you don't change a winning formula."
This year's contender Edisa booked her spot in the line-up for the Cup after a victory in the inaugural Jockey Club Oaks at Belmont Park. She returned to France following that success and produced a credible second in Group Two Prix du Conseil de Paris at Longchamp, facing open company for the first time. Edisa, by the trainer's own admission, isn't "quite the same level as the very best of her generation but she is extremely consistent and has run well on all types of tracks and always gives her best".
If Edisa's racing record is not enough to spark interest, her pedigree catches the eye. A home-bred from the Aga Khan Stud, Edisa is out of Ebiyza who out-ran her odds to finish sixth in the 2013 renewal of the Hong Kong Vase behind Dominant. Her sire, Kitten's Joy, has produced ninety black type winners over his stallion career and excels with turf runners. European interest in the stallion grew when his son Roaring Lion took four Group Ones in the UK and Ireland during 2018.
There is no pressure on Edisa in Hong Kong – Alain de Royer-Dupree stated "if she runs well and puts up a good performance we will be very satisfied. It's not the same expectation as when heading there with a Giofra, a Pride or a Daryakana". She may not be a Pride or a Daryakana, but she has the credentials to out-run her odds – just as Ebiyza did six years ago.
Magic Wand
The key to success is consistency and Magic Wand was finally rewarded for her tenacity when claiming a first Group 1 in the Mackinnon Stakes at Flemington. With sixteen Group One starts under her belt, Magic Wand has exceeded expectations by achieving eleven top four finishes worldwide. Although Hong Kong International Races will be a new venture for the filly, trainer Aidan O'Brien knows what it takes to win with Highland Reel taking the Hong Kong Vase in 2015 and 2017.
During her three year old campaign, Magic Wand demonstrated her ability with success in the listed Chester Vase and Group 2 Ribblesdale Stakes at Royal Ascot. She fell short of top class competition but continued to produce eye catching efforts in behind, including a fourth in the Grade One Breeder's Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Churchill Downs. That performance booked her place in the Pegasus World Cup where she stayed on well to place second behind Bricks and Mortar.
It was becoming clear that Magic Wand excelled in fast conditions and an international campaign was on the agenda in 2019. From placing third in the Man O'War Stakes at Belmont Park to a second in the Arlington Million, the O'Brien team has chased good weather and prize money with their versatile filly. Australia beckoned and Magic Wand started her campaign with a fourth in the Group One Cox Plate at Moonee Valley, earning a spot in the Melbourne Cup.
After a tenth in the Melbourne Cup, O'Brien's travelling head lad TJ Comerford noted that the filly "ate up everything and was telling us she was ready to run". Four days later, Magic Wand re-emerged in the Mackinnon Stakes and scored her first Group One success. Jockey Ryan Moore was delighted: "She's a fabulous filly and been in top company all her life. She ran a great race in the Cox Plate then it went against her in the Melbourne Cup, but to back up a few days later to win here is great. She needs fast ground and had terrible luck with the rain following her. Everything was right for her today."
Success in the Mckinnon Stakes took the filly's prize money total to nearly three million pounds. She may not be top of the pecking order at Ballydoyle but Magic Wand continues to shine on the global stage. Fast ground and tough races bring out the best in her – the same conditions she will face in the Hong Kong Cup.
