Decisions, decisions.
You know a horse has reached another plateau of dominance when the first question at the post-race press conference stops being, “Tell us about the win,” and instead becomes, “What next?”
Able Friend took that step in Sunday’s barrier trial-like Group One Stewards’ Cup victory and now connections are left to wrangle with which overseas races he will contest – if any.
The big chestnut’s owner-turned-party pooper Dr Cornel Li Fook-kwan drew a collective groan from the assembled press pack, all hungry for a mid-season junket somewhere – anywhere – when he flatly answered, “No Dubai, no Sydney,” to the US$6 million question.
Trainer John Moore will now take Li for a long lunch to try to convince him Meydan and the Dubai Turf in late March is the way to go.
Prize money, quarantine requirements and travel subsidies are all obvious factors when weighing up which overseas races to attack, but there’s a lot more that goes into decisions in the strange, insular world of racing with the Hong Kong Jockey Club.
The relative strength of a country’s dollar also plays a part, but Jockey Club politics – and even which country has better shopping – both go into the mix.
Then of course there is the lament of nearly every Hong Kong horse trainer, which Moore alluded to on Sunday when he suggested: “Dr Li has a lot of friends in his ear telling him what he should do.”
In December it seemed Sydney’s A$3 million Doncaster Mile was favourite, at least for Li – alas the threat of a big weight in the race, a lengthy quarantine period and the lack of hefty travel subsidies or appearance fees seem to have ruled the Harbour City out.
Back then it was rumoured that his wife preferred Sydney’s shopping to Dubai. Maybe she has done some more form since then too, for from personal experience Dubai Mall has got the shopping centre at Bondi Junction covered by at least the same margin as Able Friend’s Longines Hong Kong Mile romp.
Then there’s the fact one Aussie dollar has dropped from being worth HK$7.35 midway through last year to a recent low of $6.09. As of today, the A$1.8 million first prize is worth about HK$2.1 million less than it was to a Hong Kong horse when Sacred Falls won the 2014 Doncaster.
That exchange rate might be good news for an owner looking for the next Able Friend at the Easter yearling sales, but HK$2 million buys a lot of handbags – or at least a couple – and is enough for anyone of the delightful buffets available in a luxury Hong Kong island hotel, plus some wine.
There will be a few zeroes on the end of the bill when Moore takes Li for lunch and the trainer is likely to get his way.
So even though Able Friend will head to the desert to race for a US$3.6 million prize, the back-and-forth before getting there is typical of many behind-the-scenes tussles, often with a political undertone, that can go on when horses leave these shores to race.
Also with decisions to make are Rich Tapestry’s owners. Having won the Group Three Mahab Al-Shimaal on Super Saturday in Dubai last year, the sprinter went on to finish second in the Golden Shaheen, before a history-making jaunt to Santa Anita and the Breeders’ Cup late last year.
The Jockey Club has since given dirt trackers like Rich Tapestry the option of a lead-up race for Dubai at home on the Sha Tin all-weather track, which is really just a dirt track with a funny/ironic name.
In fact, the Jockey Club might as well have called it the Rich Tapestry Handicap. Maybe the race will be called that, as it certainly has more ring to it than the time-honoured “90+ ratings band Class One Handicap”.
Trainer Michael Chang Chun-wai – the Jockey Club company man he is, having already fallen into line with the “No Lasix” edict late last year” – is obviously feeling obliged to run in a specially convened race put on, at least in part, for him.
That being said, the pressure owners and trainers feel to stay at home and keep their overlords happy is probably more perceived than real, with the club always keen to trumpet success on foreign shores, at least after the fact, as evidence of the growing overall quality of its horse population.
As the club should, but still there is the suggestion that some officials simply see a horse racing away from home as turnover leakage.
If Rich Tapestry stays for the Class One dirt race on March 1 it would rule out a lead-up run on Super Saturday.
As it stands, “Team Tapestry” is split, as jockey Olivier Doleuze is arguing the horse should again contest the Mahab Al-Shimaal – a set weights and penalties event, where he would also get to test the new Meydan dirt surface – rather than hauling 133 pounds around Sha Tin, giving as much as 20 pounds to a bunch of up-and-comers that will all be gunning for him.
The big winners in all of this to-ing and fro-ing? Probably Hong Kong’s restaurants, where all of the big decisions are made.
