Awkward draw takes fizz out of Jim And Tonic's challenge

Local runners were yesterday thrown an Audemars Piguet Queen Elizabeth II Cup lifeline when favourite Jim And Tonic drew horribly in barrier 12 and the intended Australian runner Iron Horse was a last-minute withdrawal.

There is a perilously short run to the first bend from the 2,000-metre start and Gerald Mosse will have to take Jim And Tonic back and across his field, ride him for luck and hope the pace is on.

Xavier Doumen, representing his father, Jim And Tonic's trainer Francois Doumen who had a runner in last Saturday's Grand National in England, said after the draw: 'We were hoping for a middle position before the draw, this is not ideal.

'But Jim And Tonic can usually take up the position he wants. We will be looking to come from behind off a fast pace so hopefully being wide will not be too much of a disadvantage.' The field for the $7 million contest was reduced to 13 when Iron Horse was withdrawn after he was found to be lame in his right foreleg.

Trainer John Morish said: 'Iron Horse was not right at trackwork this morning. He has a little filling in his right foreleg, and when I felt the leg he flinched under pressure.' Iron Horse also had to miss his intended race in Dubai when troubled by a foot abscess.

Master mentor Ivan Allan yesterday described himself as 'very hopeful' that local staying champion Indigenous could turn the tables on last season's winner, Jim And Tonic.

Jim And Tonic has won all three of his starts in Hong Kong, lifting an International Bowl in 1998, last season's QEII and December's Hong Kong Cup.