There was nothing indecisive about Ambitious Dragon's Citibank Hong Kong Gold Cup victory yesterday until it reached the post-race press conference stage, where trainer Tony Millard appeared paralysed by the range of choices available to the reigning Horse of the Year and a trip to Dubai next month still remains a question mark.
Douglas Whyte and Ambitious Dragon disposed of Xtension (Jeff Lloyd) and California Memory (Matthew Chadwick) with a ruthless, machine-like authority, but plans for the champion's overseas targets are still to be discussed, with World Cup night at Meydan on the table, the Yasuda Kinen in Tokyo in early June and even the Champions & Chater Cup at 2,400m in late May, which could net the gelding a HK$5 million bonus as the first winner of Hong Kong's Triple Crown for almost two decades.
Ambitious Dragon was comfortable winning the first leg - the Stewards' Cup in January - but was even more prepossessing in his second leg victory yesterday. 'I think he was better today. He's really back to where he should be,' said Whyte. 'In the Stewards' Cup, we turned for home and he dropped them but then he levelled out. Today, once again I was worried about hitting the front too soon and I was still hanging on to Ambitious Dragon when he did get to them, but when I asked him to go again, he did.'
Despite a 11/4-length margin, there was never a point at which Ambitious Dragon looked under threat, and Whyte coasted through the final 50m with plenty of horse left for whatever is to come between now and the QE II Cup in two months, but that is something still to be decided.
Ambitious Dragon has entries for both the Dubai Duty Free (1,800m) and Dubai World Cup (2,000m), but owner Johnson Lam Pui-hung is understood to be against the trip to the desert, for fear of flattening the horse and there is a precedent for that line of thought. Ironically, it was Vengeance Of Rain's Dubai Sheema Classic win that cost him Horse of the Year honours five years ago when he returned jaded and was roundly spanked by Viva Pataca in the QE II Cup and Champions & Chater Cup.
Twelve months later, it was Viva Pataca who returned tired from his second in Dubai and was beaten in the same two home-ground features as a hot favourite. Millard refused to be drawn on targets in the aftermath of Ambitious Dragon's fifth Group One win.