HK JAN 23 - LUCKY NINE SHOWS HIS CLASS

By Hong Kong Jockey Club | Monday, January 24, 2011

The Irish-bred Lucky Nine, trained by Caspar Fownes and ridden by Brett Prebble, turned in an awe inspiring performance in the Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong Classic Mile at Sha Tin to demolish a high class field of four-year-olds and in doing so declare himself a potential champion of the future.

It wasn’t so much the distance he put between himself and his rivals. In fact he only had a length and a quarter to spare over the closing Xtension, who ran a tremendous Derby trial in second, but the immediacy of his acceleration, and the speed with which he settled the result when Prebble asked him to quicken halfway up the straight, marked him as obvious championship material, and both Fownes and Prebble were happy to sing his praises for his first outing at 1600m after a previous campaign at sprint distances.

“He is such an exciting horse,” said Prebble, “and I’m just very honoured to be on him.”

Asked whether he thought there was a possibility that the compact but powerfully built son of Dubawi and a Green Desert mare might in time be able to get further than the mile, Prebble referred the question to the trainer, but the Australian did say that at points during the race Lucky Nine was “really saving energy” which seemed a favourable sign.

“Wherever he goes anyway,” joked the jockey, “it’ll take a crowbar to get me off him.”

Fownes was relatively relaxed in comparison to the man who had physically shared the Lucky Nine experience.

“It was pretty much what I expected,” said the trainer. “This was the plan for the horse, and he’s completed it as we thought he would and as the ratings said he should.

“That was a very good run by John’s horse in second but it was a confidence ride by Brett.

“This is a very exciting horse. He’s certainly an international Group One horse of the future. It’s very good for Hong Kong racing that we’ve got a horse like this around.”

If that didn’t quite answer the question of whether the Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong Derby would now be on the four-year-old’s agenda the enquiry was also put to Lucky Nine’s delighted owner, Dr Chang Fuk To, who came up with an answer that would win a Most Diplomatic Statement by an Owner Award if such a thing existed. “As a child you always need to listen to your father and as an owner it’s always best to listen to your trainer,” Dr Chang said.

In second place was the John Moore-trained Xtension who finished with a fine flourish to uphold the form he showed before his arrival in Hong Kong when fourth in the English 2000 Guineas.

“That was a fantastic run,” said John Moore “and a fantastic Derby trial. He must have run much the fastest final 200m.”

A length and a half further back came the Tony Millard-trained Treasure Lands who also raised eyebrows with the strength of his finish – a remarkable leap in form from the son of Selkirk who came into the race with the lowest rating in the 12-runner field.

But this was Lucky Nine’s day. Fownes has always said that he would reach his true potential only when he stepped up in trip to 1600m, and already he looks like a mile champion in waiting.

The next two races in the four-year-old series are the Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong Classic Cup on 20 February, and the Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong Derby itself on 20 March.

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