LEADING trainer David Hayes was itching to pencil in a start for brilliant Special in next month's $6.5 million International Bowl after a superb victory in the National Panasonic Cup at Sha Tin yesterday.
'You don't get many chances to run in top races like the International Races here and this is going to come into calculations now,' said Hayes after Special (5-1) raced clear to notch a two-length win over Indigenous (15-1) in the 1,400-metre event.
It was Special's first effort at the trip but Hayes never had any real doubt about how well he would handle it.
'I was certain it would be in his favour but we had better put the race a little bit in perspective. A lot of horses involved here are going to be a lot fitter for their runs and we were receiving plenty of weight.
'But he did win very, very well and both [jockey] Basil [Marcus] and I are very excited about this horse,' said Hayes, who currently plans to run Special in a Class One race on International Races Day.
But Special is entered for the Bowl on December 14 and the race falls beautifully into the time frame for the four-year-old who has now won six of his nine starts.
