Vengeance free to pursue Cox Plate
Former owner rescinds 'offshore only' condition of sale
Vengeance of Rain may be set for Australia's only leg of the World Racing Championships in the wake of a decision by his former owner, Lloyd Williams, to rescind a condition of sale that ensured the gelding would only race offshore.
Vengeance of Rain raced three times for Williams in Melbourne under his former name Subscribe, before being sold to the late Chow Nam for A$900,000 ($5.4 million).
The Zabeel gelding is now unbeaten in four starts this season, headlined by Sunday's $14 million Audemars Piguet Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Sha Tin.
Although the sale contract contained a clause that ensured Vengeance of Rain was exported to race and would not remain in Australia, Williams said he would be more than happy to cancel the clause if the owners wanted to tackle the A$3 million Cox Plate at Moonee Valley on October 22.
'Generally speaking when we sell horses we don't want them to come back but in this case I will be making sure we drop the people a note up there and let them know I would be delighted if they brought him back for the Cox Plate,' Williams said.
'We will waive that clause if the owner wishes to bring him back for the Cox Plate because I think it would be a terrific promotion for Moonee Valley. If we can promote the Cox Plate by bringing back arguably the best horses in this region it would be great for racing.'
Trainer David Ferraris was delighted with the news and said he would be consulting with Winston and Raymond Chow about a potential Cox Plate campaign.
'It's still quite early but, yes, the Cox Plate is a race we will definitely be considering now,' Ferraris said.
However, the focal point of next season for Vengeance of Rain will be the $18 million Hong Kong Cup over 2,000 metres.
Vengeance of Rain is expected to have one more run for the season, in the Group One Champions & Chater Cup over 2,400m on May 29.
Williams is probably the biggest individual investor in the Victorian racing industry at present, buying between 60 and 70 horses each year, and believes the appearance of Vengeance Of Rain would add to the excitement of the race he has long dreamed of winning. 'The Cox Plate is a race that I have coveted and got close to winning with Mahogany one year [1995], so I would be delighted to see Subscribe, or Vengeance Of Rain as he is now known, come back and do the trick,' Williams said.
Meanwhile, top New Zealand three-year-old Cheval de Troy has been purchased for an undisclosed price, believed to be around $6 million, and will join the Tony Cruz stable. Cheval de Troy is by Zabeel, sire of the QEII quinella of Vengeance of Rain and Greys Inn, and the deal was put together by Cambridge (New Zealand) bloodstock agent Stuart Hale, the man responsible for putting Russian Pearl into the Cruz yard.
Cheval de Troy won twice this season in New Zealand, including a Listed race at Ellerslie at 2,100m. He also finished fourth in the New Zealand Derby and third in the Canterbury Guineas in Sydney.
Cheval de Troy was formerly trained by Colin Jillings, one of the great handlers of New Zealand racing and who retired after the colt finished last of 11 runners behind Makybe Diva and Grand Armee in the Group One BMW at Rosehill in March.
The colt is bred on the same cross as this year's Cox Plate and Spring Champion Stakes winner Savabeel, by champion sire Zabeel (sire of 32 individual Group One winners) from a daughter of US Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner, Success Express.
