Mark Newnham could scarcely have hoped for a better lead-in to the HK$26 million BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m) and was in buoyant mood after Invincible Ibis was handed the plum draw at Thursday’s (19 March) barrier draw.
Fresh from a career-best quintet at Happy Valley in the penultimate meeting ahead of Sunday’s (22 March) blue-riband contest, the Australian handler’s charge gained a significant edge in drawing gate three.
Newnham, who came within a short head of BMW Hong Kong Derby success at the first attempt last year with the mercurial My Wish, was asked if Invincible Ibis, to be ridden by Hugh Bowman, now has a good chance of providing him with a first Derby win.
“He certainly does,” Newnham said. “The draw’s going to help him enormously. It just means that Hugh’s got options to put him where he wants to be, not where he’s dictated to by the barrier. With gate three, he can determine that on the pace of the race.”
A four-time winner this season, Invincible Ibis was slightly disappointing when he ran sixth in the first leg of the Classic Series, the Hong Kong Classic Mile (1600m), after going off as the 3.2 favourite, the first time he’d finished outside the frame in his nine-race career.
However, he bounced back with a terrific run in the Hong Kong Classic Cup (1800m), dashing home late along the rail to finish second, a length behind deserved winner Stormy Grove, who was drawn in gate seven for Sunday’s race.
“We’ve had a good look at that race,” Newnham said. “It’s a lot different going around the two bends. From the 1800-metre start, they go on a long straight line for a bit. But with the short run to the first turn here, there’s pressure on horses that are drawn wide and getting trapped wide into the first corner. From the good draw, he’s going to find a nice position without having to push forward or drag back.
“The way he finished off on the 1800m (in the Hong Kong Classic Cup), he does look like he’ll run the trip. We can only prepare him as well as we can, and he’s going there in good order.”
Reuniting with the Tony Cruz-trained Beauty Bolt, and filling James McDonald’s boots on the Kwok family-owned galloper, Brenton Avdulla was optimistic about the Night Of Thunder gelding’s chances.
“I’m looking forward to getting on him,” Avdulla said. “He’s so far been racing really consistently, and from his debut run, I always thought he’d be a horse that measures up in the Four-Year-Old (Classic) Series. So it’s nice to get on him for the Derby.”
Despite not yielding a win since the 2002 edition, when Olympic Express triumphed, Avdulla was upbeat about his prospects of tailing the presumed pace horse, Numbers, from gate 11.
“I’ve not had a good look at the field yet,” Avdulla said, “but my immediate reaction would be: Numbers is actually pretty well drawn from 13, and he might be able to get along in his own pace. So, whether we follow him across or ride by him, I’m not sure – I’d have to ask Tony and the connections. But it’s a race that I don’t think has a lot of pace in it, with a lot of horses that want to be just behind the pace.
“The main thing with my horse is to relax and help him run the trip. I think if he does that, he can run good.”
One handler who cut a less confident figure was David Eustace, whose two runners, Dazzling Fit and Seraph Gabriel, were handed difficult assignments from gates 14 and 12, respectively.
“Obviously, it’s frustrating. But we can’t control it,” Eustace said. “We’ll just have to make a plan as to how we ride them.
“I think they’re probably horses that would have had place chances before the draw, and it makes it harder. But not impossible.”
The remainder of the field features Little Paradise (drawn in gate 10), Sagacious Life (2), Patch Of Cosmo (6), Emblazon (8), Top Dragon (1), Regal Gem (4), Juneau Pride (5) and Pope Cody (9).
Sunday’s (22 March) 10-race fixture at Sha Tin starts at 1pm with the Class 4 Luger Handicap (1600m). The 149th BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m) jumps at 4.05pm.
