China Horse Club members are eagerly anticipating a multinational stakes race tilt this weekend when four of the club’s thoroughbreds compete in three different regions of the world. Stakes winners Zululand (Australia) and Ming Zhi Cosmos (Germany) will tackle a group three and a listed race in different hemispheres while the prodigious First Seal (Australia) will bid to replicate her last start victory in Sydney, Australia and the Singapore based A La Victory will make his debut.
“This is what racing is all about for a club like the China Horse Club and our members love elite competition,” said Eden Harrington, General Manager of the CHC.
“Racing in stakes races is a privilege and you can’t always be assured that luck will fall your way but if you work hard enough, with the right materials (horses) and with the right people (trainers and jockeys) then our members have every chance to have a memorable experience and that could equal success on the big stage.”
David Hayes, the Hall of Fame trainer that prepares Zululand, Wilderness and Eastern Cape for the China Horse Club and its partners, is delighted with the progress Zululand has made since his encouraging first up run earlier this month and believes the striking looking colt remains on track for his primary goal for the Australian spring, the G1 $A1 million Caulfield Guineas. While Saturday’s $A150,000 G3 McNeil Stakes (1200m) is expected to be too sharp for Zululand there is no doubting the abilities of the three-year-old who appears to be a stronger and more complete racehorse four months on from running second in the G1 Champagne Stakes over the Sydney Autumn Carnival.
Zululand
The CHC’s French trainer, Nicolas Clement, has shown adeptness at placing the big hearted Ming Zhi Cosmos to effect and the affable trainer heads to the German spa town of Baden Baden with her this weekend. Ming Zhi Cosmos will take her place in the Listed Coolmore Stud Baden Baden Cup and, over her favoured 1400m distance, she cannot be discounted.
Ming Zhi Cosmos
“Nicolas knows the capabilities of Ming Zhi Cosmos very well. He has placed her with great results in France and in Italy and no doubt she will have her chance once again,” Harrington added.
“To be able to support our good friends Coolmore is also most important to us.”
CHC members certainly enjoyed the success of First Seal when she made her seasonal debut in Sydney two weeks ago. Jockey Hugh Bowman was glowing in his praise of the powerfully made filly as was trainer John Thompson. Thompson considered stepping his charge up from the maiden event straight into a stakes race but has stayed true to his original plan which sees First Seal work through her grades towards a target of the G1 Flight Stakes in October.
Thompson, who trains four young horses for the CHC, has shown himself to be an exceptional horseman in both Australia and in China during last year’s 2013 China Equine Cultural Festival, and the emergence of First Seal is a fitting reward for his energy and dedication. Sharing a journey with him is one that all at the club are thoroughly enjoying.
CHC’s Singapore trainer, Michael Freedman, has patiently handled a quartet of young performers from Australia and New Zealand that arrived at his base earlier this year. The first unleashed was Wimbledon, a last start winner whose record stands at three starts for a win, a second and a third. A La Victory will be the second to front at the racecourse. And while the gelding is giving the indication that he is looking for more ground that Sunday’s S$65,000 Initiation Handicap (1200m) he has done enough to warrant the services of champion jockey Joao Moreira who is making a fleeting return from Hong Kong having dominated the Singapore racing scene in a manner never before seen.
Ala Victory