DERMOT Weld won the last running of the then Invitation Bowl and has made the flight to Hongkong from his native Ireland with the very definite hope that he can repeat the performance today in the International Bowl. Weld, whose continuing battles with Jim Bolger for the annual Irish championship are part of racing folklore, has forgotten more about the art of training than many will ever know. Looking remarkably relaxed when almost literally off the plane, he was optimistic about Diamonds Galore, the eight-year-old sprinter who carries Ireland's hopes today although his stay in the country has been extremely brief. ''And that's really the niggling worry. I just wish he had come to me a month or so before he did - sometime towards the end of January. ''We are certainly very pleased with him and he has done what we have asked him to do. It was a very pleasing effort at Leopardstown which was his only start for us to date. ''That was over five furlongs and he came from well off the pace for Pat Shanahan to finish a closing second. It was very encouraging,'' said Weld. The Leopardstown run undoubtedly tilted the balance in favour of Diamonds Galore coming to Hongkong for today's Bowl - even though the horse's connections clearly had the race in mind when sending the horse across the Atlantic to Weld. He is arguably the most interesting runner in the field. He was originally selected as first reserve for the North American challenge when the race was due to be run back in December. That would almost certainly have meant no start for the veteran campaigner but the re-scheduling of the race to April gave Diamonds Galore a real chance to get it - from Europe. His one run there last season, in the Nunthorpe Stakes where he finished third to the brilliant filly Lyric Fantasy and the ill-fated Mr Brooks, ensured that his form virtually guaranteed selection. But one major key to Diamonds Galore's chances of success today is that Weld knows how to travel a horse. Weld has had phenomenal success tackling overseas races with his successful raid on the Belmont Stakes taking pride of place. But Go And Go did it for Weld and stable jockey Mick Kinane and his Hongkong raid with Additional Risk shows that, no matter where it is, the Irish trainer will stake his claim.
