The resurgence of Godolphin has been one of the great themes of recent years and it was a pleasure to be at Flemington on Tuesday to see Cross Counter become the first British-trained winner of the Melbourne Cup.
It is always impressive to see how the Australian public embrace the race that stops a nation and this year was no exception, with a huge crowd on a day which started with severe rainstorms.
Kerrin McEvoy came from way back to lead home a British 1-2-3 aboard the winner and, just like last year when Ireland filled the first three places, the result showed yet again that racing is a truly global sport nowadays.
The result confirmed that good horses are capable of showing their best form wherever they travel in the world and also that Sheikh Mohammed has found a major training talent in Charlie Appleby.
Charlie didn’t enjoy a win when he brought his good sprinter Blue Point to Hong Kong for the Chairman’s Sprint Prize in April, but he has won twelve Group 1 races with ten different horses this year and every one of them has travelled abroad at least once.
For me, that tells you a lot about his adventurous approach to campaigning Godolphin’s best horses and I am sure there will be a warm welcome if Charlie decides to bring Blair House to take on last year’s winner Time Warp in the LONGINES Hong Kong Cup in December.
Time Warp clearly came back to form under an intelligent ride from Zac Purton to land the Sa Sa Ladies’ Purse at Sha Tin on Sunday and our champion jockey also represented Hong Kong well at Flemington, finishing a fine fourth in the Cup on Chris Waller’s Finche and then winning the following race for the same trainer on Kaonic.
Zac will be back in Hong Kong for tonight’s eight-race card at Happy Valley, including the Class 3 American Club Challenge Cup over 1200 metres (R5).
Little Bird, Handsome Bo Bo, Prance Dragon and My Chance are all expected to go forward to establish a good pace. Handsome Bo Bo has yet to race or trial at the Valley but is a consistent type at this distance and is a place chance for Zac.
Little Bird turned in a solid effort in his first try at Happy Valley three weeks ago, has drawn well and the only concern is he can miss the jump, which he did in his trial last week. He is also a place chance.
Master Albert comes into the race having the benefit of a first-up run and now steps up in distance to his preferred trip. He is drawn inside, should get a pace to suit and is a win and place chance. Prance Dragon is a place chance with the addition of blinkers. His two wins in New Zealand were over this same sprint distance with blinkers on.
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