CHAMPION trainer Lee Freedman has totally revised his thinking about the type of horse needed to win the Hongkong Invitation races after last Sunday's failure of Storaia in the Invitation Bowl at Sha Tin.
Freedman offers no excuses for Storaia - ridden by Damien Oliver - other than the simple fact that the gelding wasn't good enough.
He now believes the quality of the Hongkong races is such that failed Group One horses from Australia cannot compete.
A horse such as Storaia, despite his good record in Group One races behind the likes of Schillaci, has probably lost his chance of winning at that level.
''In future, I think we have to look for horses on the way up rather than failed Group One horses,'' Freedman said.
''A horse that has won Group Three or Two races but looks to be advancing into Group One - that's the observation of both myself and my brother Richard who took Storaia to Hongkong.'' Storaia, according to Richard Freedman, is essentially a Group Two horse not up to winning at Group One.