INVINCIBLE SAGE WINS THE CHAIRMAN’S SPRINT PRIZE

By Darren Winningham | Sunday, April 28, 2024

The Chairman’s Sprint Prize worth HK$22 was taken out by Invincible Sage who was running in his first Group 1 race.

He put the writing on the wall that something special was about to occur when he ran second to Lucky Sweynesse in the Group 2 Sprint Cup three weeks ago.

The short priced favourite California Spangle, who was ridden by Brenton Avdulla, had a torrid run throughout with Victor The Winner and the Japanese runner Mad Cool who both weakened late to finish out of the placings.

However, all praise must go to Invincible Sage trained by Australian David Hall and ridden by Hugh Bowman who stalked California Spangle into the straight and then unleashed a solid sprint to win the race convincingly on the line.

David Hall was impressed with the effort of Invincible Sage saying, “It was a pretty easy watch, actually – the grey horse from Japan [Mad Cool] putting a bit of pressure on the leaders and Hughy sitting there in his normal cool fashion.

“There’s no question he revels in the ground. He’s not a big horse. He strides very efficiently in it, and he’s proven in Australia that he can handle it. It’s great to see the horse progress and it’ll be interesting going forward whether he can do the same on a firm track. It’s hard to tell how much the conditions made him go to this level because he’s just been the type of horse who’s progressed.”

Bowman who has now made Hong Kong home for the immediate future praised Invincible Sage telling the international media after the race, “I am so proud of him, and he has just settled in beautifully since arriving in Hong Kong. I had a bit of success with him last year and I have enjoyed watching him progress through the grades.”

When questioned about Invincible Sage’s maiden Group 1 victory Bowman said, “He is up to top class now. I think a rain-affected track may have assisted his performance, but even on a dry track I think we would have seen a winning performance today”.

Bowman now has ridden Invincible Sage to three of his four victories since he arrived in Hong Kong.

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