Solid rather than spectacular has to be the verdict at this stage on this season's Private Purchase horses. Largely this is a reflection of the continuing difficulty involved in buying well-performed horses at a realistic price, but also the Jockey Club's tighter restrictions on imports have had the effect of pushing buyers in the direction of 'potential', rather than established Group performers.
While that may be a good move in the long term, it makes the job of assessing this season's PPs all the more tricky, even before taking into account the acclimatisation factor. Having said that, several of the new PPs have shown clear talent and some at least are sure to be competitive in the top races, as the likes of Olympic Express and Firebolt were last season.
This article will concentrate on the earliest batch of PPs to arrive, primarily those heading straight into Premier Class and above, with another assessment to follow next week.
Perhaps the most interesting imports from Europe are River Dancer and The Pioneer, if only for the fact they were two of the most expensive yearlings in the world in 2000 and are cast-offs from Aidan O'Brien's Ballydoyle operation.
The Pioneer, a three-parts brother to US champion two-year-old filly Storm Song, set a record for the Keeneland September Yearling Sale when bought for US$6.8 million (HK$53 million) and was the world's highest-priced yearling in 2000. The following month, River Dancer set a European yearling record of 3.4 million guineas (HS$43.7 million) at the Tattersalls Houghton Sales in England.
River Dancer is the best performed of the duo, having won a Group Three event in France over 2,000 metres in May, and he has been allocated a rating of 103 for John Size, making him the highest-rated PP this season and the only one to make an initial appearance on the Jockey Club's list of top 50 horses in Hong Kong.
