Second-season trainer Brett Crawford is aiming for a “really big Group race” for his stable as he looks to build on a strong start to his Hong Kong career with marquee horses Mr Incredible and Galaxy Patch.
Crawford had a dream start to his tenure in the city, saddling 28 winners in his rookie campaign and bagging his first Group race with Encountered in the Group Three Ladies’ Purse (1,800m) with long-time ally Karis Teetan aboard.
Towards the end of the campaign, Crawford had another huge boost when Mr Incredible emerged to win three of his opening four starts, including an easy success when stepped up into Class Three company on his most recent outing.
The four-year-old series beckons for the Toronado galloper and his trainer believes he is a horse who will continue to improve as he matures.
“He’s done a lot of things right in the short time he has been in Hong Kong, so we’re looking forward to seeing what he can do this season,” Crawford said.
“I think he’s a horse that will mature and get better as he gets older. I’m hoping he can continue to carry on making the bigger steps.
“The end goal is obviously to try and get him as competitive as we can in the four-year-old series, but that’s only later on in the year. He’s going to go back to Conghua next week due to the fact we want to give him some grass trials – it’s quite difficult to get on the grass at Sha Tin at the moment.”
The four-year-old series kicks off with the Classic Mile on January 31, with the Classic Cup (1,800m) on February 28 and the Hong Kong Derby (2,000m) on March 21.
Many aspiring hopes will be out early this season trying to boost their rating to get into the Classic Mile, but for Crawford, that is not going to be a concern for his 80-rated Mr Incredible.
“Once we’ve seen him on the grass, we’ll assess how many runs we want to give him. He’s off a mark of 80 already, so I think that helps a lot as we don’t have to rush him, but if he’s doing well we’ll run him,” Crawford said.
“We’ll probably start off at 1,200m or 1,400m – I’ll keep him short and sharp for now and then obviously start to look to step him up.”
Crawford got another boost towards the end of last campaign when classy campaigner Galaxy Patch, who won the Group Two Jockey Club Mile for trainer Pierre Ng Pang-chi last November, joined the stable.
He made his debut for the yard when running an almighty race to finish a neck second in the Group Three Premier Cup (1,400m), only beaten by Classic Mile winner Little Paradise, to whom he was conceding 15lb.
“Galaxy Patch is doing well, we sent him to Conghua just to have a really good holiday. We’re happy with the way he looks,” Crawford said.
“He’s not a horse that’s ever excited from what I can see in the short time I’ve had him on the track, but that’s fine because we know he has the ability. I think it’s just about getting him feeling well and getting him fit, and it looks like he’s doing everything right.
“The plan is to give him one trial and then obviously we’ve got the two options leading up to international day.”
Twenty eight winners and a maiden Hong Kong Group success was the perfect platform for Crawford to launch his local career from, but the 54-year-old is already aiming to iron out the kinks as he prepares to launch a potentially lucrative campaign.
“Year one was a big learning curve which I think the yard handled pretty well, so I think we can only get better at what we’re doing,” Crawford said. “The focus will be on attention to detail this season for sure.
“At the end of the day, the objective is to try and get another Group race, but this time preferably a really big Group race for the stable.”
Crawford will launch his season with six runners at Sha Tin on Sunday, headlined by Public Attention in the Class Three Battery Handicap (1,200m).
There will also be intrigue surrounding Titanck, a Chelmsford winner for Richard Hughes in Britain pre-import, who makes his local debut in the Class Three Cotton Tree Handicap (1,400m). Crawford’s team is rounded off by Island Buddy, All Are Mine, Hey Bros and Yee Cheong Raider.
