Frustration turned to anger on Thursday when international visitor Red Cadeaux was denied use of the grass surface at Sha Tin and forced to work on a parlous all-weather track.

The poor state of the rain- affected dirt track caused a quick switch to the turf for star local milers Able Friend and Ambitious Dragon - but Red Cadeaux's travelling foreman, Robin Trevor-Jones, was unhappy they were not given that option.

While Able Friend's trainer, John Moore, switched his horse to the back-straight turf to avoid reinjuring a hock originally hurt on a similarly treacherous surface in September, Trevor-Jones had to send his Hong Kong Vase candidate out on a track he labelled "nearly unusable".

It just wasn't suitable for us to do any decent work on. My job here is to minimise risk as much as I can, and the ground wasn't up to a standard where it was appropriate to do proper exercise on
Robin Trevor-Jones

"It just wasn't suitable for us to do any decent work on," he said. "My job here is to minimise risk as much as I can, and today the ground wasn't up to a standard where it was appropriate to do proper exercise on.

"We are only 10 days out from the race and we have him right where we want him. We can't afford a setback."

The Ed Dunlop-trained eight-year-old, who won the Vase two years ago, was held to a steady canter on a track left hard, pockmarked and uneven after two days of local trackwork; Moore and Ambitious Dragon's handler, Tony Millard, had already made alternative arrangements.

Persistent rain meant ground staff were unable to harrow the dirt track and left it sealed lest it become waterlogged ahead of Sunday's meeting, at which the much-derided track will host seven of the 11 scheduled races.

Trainers must give officials 24 hours' notice if wishing to use the turf, hence Trevor-Jones' request being knocked back; a similar last-minute application from a local trainer was also refused.

"I asked at 6.30 in the morning. Unfortunately, I am not a weather forecaster so didn't know the dirt track wouldn't be harrowed," Trevor-Jones said.

Jockey Club officials said they went to great lengths to cooperate with visiting trainers, and had even changed trackwork times for quarantined horses at the behest of visitors.

Officials added that Longines international day entrants, both local and foreign, have a limited number of times they can access the turf, and Trevor-Jones had opted not to use one of his available allotments.

If the wet weather continues, the club may allow visitors more access to the turf, as has been done in previous years.

Moore legged Joao Moreira aboard Able Friend and the pair breezed down the back straight.

"We went to the turf because I didn't want a reoccurrence of what happened with him wrenching his hock back in September, so we decided to work him in a straight line down the back," Moore said of the hot Hong Kong Mile favourite.

"We sent him out there with no winkers on and let him enjoy himself and he came back and didn't even blow. As I've said, 'How much work does he need?' He is almost there, he has just shown me that maybe he doesn't need as much work as I thought. We might use the back straight gallop again next week, to take care of his hindquarters; we'll let Mother Nature dictate the work pattern."

Millard was in a similar situation with Ambitious Dragon, an eight-year-old whom he has painstakingly rehabilitated after a tendon injury kept him off the racetrack for almost 18 months before his return in October.

"It was a good option. The grass was beautiful so I was happy we did that," he said. "It's just about rounding him off now and hoping there's no hiccups."

Meanwhile, jockey Olivier Doleuze hopes to makes his return from a shoulder injury on international day after completing specialist treatment in Switzerland.

Comments0Comments