Prawn plans hit new hurdle as regulations bar Marwing
Ivan Allan's plans for Fairy King Prawn face another bureaucratic obstacle after it was confirmed last night that current Jockey Club regulations will not enable Weichong Marwing to continue his association with the Horse of the Year in the Champions Mile on May 20.
Allan has earmarked the domestic Group One contest as the next target for Fairy King Prawn regardless of the international wrangling over the gelding's eligibility for the Yasuda Kinen in Japan on June 3. But the trainer could face a search for a new jockey if the Club refuses to offer Marwing a temporary licence. The South African jockey was allowed to partner Fairy King Prawn in last week's Chairman's Sprint Prize under the rule which allows a trainer to bring in any jockey for an international Group One card, but the rule does not apply to domestic-only meetings.
Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, the Club's director of racing, said: 'Our rules say the only jockeys permitted to come in from outside on such days are those who have held a Club jockey's licence for more than one month in the current season. Weichong Marwing does not fall into that category because he has only been a retained rider in the current season.'
Marwing left Hong Kong in February after his retainership with Tony Millard broke down and the Club refused to grant him a Club jockey's licence for the remainder of the season. He was called up by Allan for the ride on Fairy King Prawn following Robbie Fradd's sacking, but at that time the plans included only the Chairman's Sprint Prize and the Yasuda Kinen.
Engelbrecht-Bresges said Marwing could apply to the Licensing Committee for a one-day licence to ride in the Champions Mile but added: 'It would be up to the committee, but under the current rules he would require special dispensation to be able to ride.'
The feature event on Champions Mile day is the ING Hong Kong Champions & Chater Cup (2,400m) which will feature a rematch of the Hong Kong horses from the QE II Cup.
Brian Kan Ping-chee has aborted a Singapore Airlines International Cup start on May 12 for Derby winner Industrial Pioneer after his failure in the QE II Cup. 'Why would I go to Singapore? The horse was very disappointing. I thought he would win the QE II,' Kan said. 'We will keep him here and maybe he will appreciate the 2,400 metres.'
Hong Kong Gold Cup winner Idol was another disappointment on face value, finishing 11th behind Silvano last Sunday, but he will be in line for a $2 millon bonus if he can win the Champions & Chater. With the Gold Cup the middle leg of the Triple Crown races, Idol's win there made him eligible for the bonus offered for winning two of the three legs. David Hayes will get the chance to step Helene Vitality up to the trip he craves and will take the blinkers off the four-year-old. Hayes had applied the blinkers in the QE II for the first time.
'The horse was racing well without them and he has really only disappointed his last couple because the going didn't suit him,' Hayes said. 'Hopefully, we will get firm going for the Champions & Chater and I think he'll bounce back to top form.'
Allan's plans for the Champions & Chater remain fluid, though QE II Cup third Indigenous is a probable runner in the race alongside Oriental Express, for whom the race is likely to provide a career swansong. Daliapour, who was sixth in the QE II, is set to go for the Singapore Airlines International Cup following the withdrawal of the requirement to pass an official barrier trial.
The son of Sadler's Wells, who has been suffering from lameness in his near foreleg, will instead have to gallop to the satisfaction of a Jockey Club veterinary surgeon, but Allan is confident the horse will be given the all-clear.
The trainer said: 'He has been a little sore, but he is responding well to treatment. It is not a big problem, just the usual thing that can happen after a race, and he should be OK. I still have to discuss plans with his owner Robert Ng, but I am inclined to run him in Singapore.'
