Douglas Whyte punches the air as Ambitious Dragon wins at Sha Tin
A sense of déjà-vu surrounded the latest Group 1 victory by Ambitious Dragon (Tony Millard/Douglas Whyte) as Hong Kong’s best thoroughbred and reigning Horse Of The Year had little difficulty in adding the Citibank Hong Kong Gold Cup to his expanding resume.
Douglas Whyte and Ambitious Dragon disposed of Xtension (Jeff Lloyd) and California Memory (Matthew Chadwick) with a ruthless, machine-like authority, but plans for the champion’s overseas targets and a trip to Dubai next month still remains a question mark. The World Cup night at Meydan, the Yasuda Kinen in Tokyo in early June and even the Champions & Chater Cup at 2400m in late May, could net the gelding a HK$5-million bonus as the first winner of Hong Kong’s Triple Crown for almost two decades.
Ambitious Dragon was comfortable winning the first leg – the Stewards’ Cup in January – but was even more impressive in his second leg victory. “I think he was better today. He’s really back to where he should be,’’ said Whyte. “In the Stewards’ Cup, we turned for home and he dropped them but then he levelled out. Today, once again I was worried about hitting the front too soon and I was still hanging on to Ambitious Dragon when he did get to them, but when I asked him to go again, he did.’’
Despite a 1.25-length margin, there was never a point at which Ambitious Dragon looked under threat, and Whyte coasted through the final 50m with plenty of horse left for whatever is to come between now and the QE II Cup in two months, but that is something still to be decided.
Ambitious Dragon has entries for both the Dubai Duty Free (1800m) and Dubai World Cup (2000m), but owner Johnson Lam Pui-hung is understood to be against the trip to the desert for fear of flattening the horse and there is a precedent for that line of thought. Ironically, it was Vengeance Of Rain’s Dubai Sheema Classic win that cost him Horse Of The Year honours five years ago when he returned jaded and was roundly spanked by Viva Pataca in the QE II Cup and Champions & Chater Cup.
Twelve months later, it was Viva Pataca who returned tired from his second in Dubai and was beaten in the same two home-ground features as a hot favourite. Millard refused to be drawn on targets in the aftermath of Ambitious Dragon’s fifth Group One win.
The Audemars Piguet QEII late in April at Sha Tin, which Ambitious Dragon won last year, seems the most locked-in consideration for the foreseeable future.
But, intriguingly, the final leg of the Triple Crown, the Champions & Chater Cup over 1m4f in May is also being mooted as a viable late-season target now that the first two trophies are on the mantelpiece.
As with most racing jurisdictions nowadays, Triple Crown sweeps in Hong Kong are rare indeed. The feat has only been achieved once (River Verdon in 1993/94) and, as such, its lure and historical significance may make it difficult to pass up – although Whyte is opposed to the idea.
“I think he is too brilliant for that distance,” the South African jockey reasoned. “Now that he is back to his best you just want to wrap him in cotton wool and look after him as long as you can.”
“First we have to see how the horse pulls up, then Mr Lam and I have to sit down and see where we go,’’ Millard said, and he appeared less bullish about the 2400m of the final Triple Crown leg than previously. “There’s nothing like giving a horse like this a break and the 2400m does come up a bit late in the season.’’
While Millard was undecided, John Moore was clear that Xtension would go to the Duty Free and acquit himself well.
“On his game, Ambitious Dragon is just too hard to beat,’’ Moore said. “But Xtension got a bit held up in the straight and was still able to get past California Memory. I’m very happy to take him to Dubai and I think he will be very competitive. The 2000m is about as far as he goes, so 1800m is perfect and he is in great form.’’ – extract South China Morning Post.
