The Group One Champions Mile on Sunday week has been hit early after two French trainers decided the opposition was too strong. Freddy Head-trained Racinger and Francois Rohault's Turtle Bowl were withdrawn from the third Asian Mile Challenge series leg yesterday.
The pair had quinellaed the Group Three Prix Edmond Blanc over a mile on heavy ground at Saint-Cloud 17 days ago at their first outings for the new European flat season, but their trainers were daunted by the much tougher task at Sha Tin.
'They said they'd looked at the depth of the race and decided it was too strong for them to be taking on so early in the season,' said Jockey Club international racing manager Mark Player. 'It would have been nice to have a French flavour but it isn't easy to get the Europeans here at this stage of the year.
'There don't seem to be any appropriate replacements available for them, so we'll run the Champions Mile with a field of 12 rather than trying to fill it for the sake of filling it.'
Player said he had made a last-ditch attempt to enrol Kenji Yamauchi-trained Japanese miler Kongo Rikishio following his win in the Group Two Yomiuri Miles Cup at Hanshin last Saturday but to no avail.
'Before the selections, they were very keen to bring the horse for the Champions Mile but his rating didn't quite get him into the field,' Player said. 'After he won at Hanshin and his rating was raised, he would have been a welcome addition, but it was all too late.'
