The immediate future of dual Horse of the Year and defending Longines Hong Kong Mile champion Ambitious Dragon is under a dark cloud and he will not take his place in the Oriental Watch Sha Tin Trophy this month.

The six-time Group One winner was expected to resume racing on October 27 and help launch the local career of incoming Brazilian jockey Joao Moreira in that Group Two race, which will see the return of Military Attack, California Memory and other top-liners.

However, the seven-year-old has been missing from trackwork sessions since September 24 with a core lesion on his left front superficial digital flexor tendon.

Trainer Tony Millard said yesterday the injury was a hangover from severe interference suffered in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup last April, and its full extent has yet to be determined.

"It's one of those things and, maybe given time, it won't prove serious but it is a setback," Millard said. "We've pulled him out of work and we'll have him checked over next week and then reassess where we are.

"But, you know, I'm very conservative. I wouldn't want to kick on if there's a real problem."

According to vets, the lameness from this kind of tendon injury can vary widely, from lasting only a few days to chronic problems, which could prove career-ending.

Millard made a brilliant training performance to produce Ambitious Dragon to win the Hong Kong Mile last December after the gelding had been diagnosed lame (with a different issue) just 24 hours prior to the race, and the trainer was not losing hope over the latest setback.

It's one of those things and, maybe given time, it won't prove serious but it is a setback
Tony Millard

"We've been in a corner before and got out of it, so hopefully we can do it again," he said.

Meanwhile, there will be a Hong Kong connection when Irish St Leger-winning mare Voleuse de Coeurs lines up in the A$6 million (HK$43.5 million) Melbourne Cup next month.

The mare won the St Leger by six lengths at The Curragh last weekend and was not set to go to Australia before Sun International chairman Cheng Ting-kong bought her on Wednesday.

Australian media has reported Cheng may have paid up to A$1.5 million (HK$10.9 million) for the mare through bloodstock agent Paul Moroney. Voleuse de Coeurs will now be prepared by his brother, Melbourne Cup-winning trainer Mike Moroney, and it is believed the Hong Kong Vase is also on the owner's agenda later this year.

It continues the emergence of Cheng, who races many horses in Macau, as a player on the international bloodstock scene this year. Sun International Group also purchased Eliza Park Stud in August this year, an operation that controls six Australian equine properties in Victoria and Queensland, and Cheng was active at the Magic Millions Weanling Sale auction before that.

Red Cadeaux, owned by former Hong Kong Jockey Club chairman Ronald Arculli and a nose second in the Melbourne Cup of 2011, finished 10 lengths behind Voleuse de Coeurs at The Curragh, but is also expected to make his third trip to Melbourne.

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