Hayes' stable errs by not entering Super Molly
Leading trainer David Hayes was left devastated yesterday by a stable error which has cost top miler Super Molly his place in the Group One Stewards' Cup on Sunday week. The Jockey Club received 14 nominations for the rich mile but none for Super Molly, Hong Kong's 10th-rated horse and the third highest-rated miler following his close fifth in the Hong Kong Mile.
'It is a stable mistake. The nominations are a bit unusual in that they are two weeks before the race and my assistant has overlooked the entry for Super Molly,' Hayes said. 'It is a bad mistake and I'm hoping that the relatively small nomination for the race will give us a last chance. With only 14 entries, a single scratching would mean the club would not have a full field for one of its feature races, so I'm hopeful they will call for additional nominations.
'It would be a great shame and detract from the race if one of the best horses in Hong Kong has to miss out on a start.'
But Jockey Club executive director of racing, Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges was firm on the official view.
'There is no chance we will open the entries again,' he said. 'If there were just 10 or 11 entries, it is our policy with any race to call for extra nominations. However, with 14 entries we regard the race as properly filled. This date has been well known for a long time and saying that a mistake was made does not change the situation. In the past, other trainers have made similar mistakes and we have not changed the rules for them and we will not in this case either. It is not fair to those people who have worked within the rules. I'm sorry for the owners' sake, but we cannot babysit our trainers.'
Hong Kong Cup winner Precision was also missing from the Stewards' Cup entries, but trainer David Oughton said it was not due to error or injury. 'I was never really planning to run him in the race,' Oughton said. 'I think that a mile is too sharp for the horse and he needs 2000m now so the intention is to keep him to the longer races in the future.'
Oughton said yesterday he had not yet decided on the next appearance for Precision but revealed that the third World Series leg, the Singapore Airlines International Cup, 2,000m, on May 17 might now be on the gelding's program for this season.
'His immediate goal is the Hong Kong Gold Cup next month and he may have a race between now and then, although I haven't settled on one at this stage,' he said. 'After that, he will definitely run in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup here and I am looking at the idea of running in Singapore.'
In other news, the Jockey Club has achieved a breakthrough in its Goods and Services Tax-related problem ahead of tomorrow's Magic Millions sale in Australia. The club was examining whether to continue its regular purchase of yearlings at sales in Australia, after pressure from the government there to pay an additional 10 per cent GST on the horses even though they were to be exported.
'There does appear to be some flexibility coming into the argument today and I believe it is going to be possible to register the Jockey Club appropriately to avoid this situation,' Engelbrecht-Bresges said. 'However, the bad news is that this is not going to be possible immediately and the Magic Millions purchases will have to be moved out of the country and across to New Zealand for their early education.'
Stewards' Cup entries (Group 1, 1600m):
Cheers Hong Kong, Chinook, Dr More, Electronic Unicorn, Ferrule, Goggles, Gonlargo, Housemaster, Indigenous, Monards, Olympic Express, Red Pepper, Red Sun, Smart Winner. (14 entries).
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