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Robin Parke

RIVER Verdon strode majestically into the history of Hong Kong racing on Sunday with an awesome display of staying power that brought him Triple Crown glory and cried out for exposure on a wider stage.

  That chance could come on the first Tuesday in November with the 134th running of the Melbourne Cup at Flemington racecourse and the entire racing world listening and looking on.

  The superb victory of Irish St Leger winner Vintage Crop in last year's Melbourne Cup fully vindicated the far-sighted endeavours of the Victorian Racing Club and, in particular, its racing secretary, Les Benton, in making the race more international.

  It also ensured that never again would the Melbourne Cup be quite the same.

  Now overseas challengers will become a major factor in that great Australian carnival and Hong Kong has a horse capable of playing a meaningful part in the fabled race that stops a nation.

  And that immediately becomes a key issue in whether River Verdon does leave these shores for a second time to compete abroad.

  It is counter-productive to send a Hong Kong horse overseas if he is not capable of at least holding his own in competitive company. Sadly, that was the case with Winning Partners who flopped in Tokyo some 90 minutes before River Verdon galloped almost effortlessly to Triple Crown glory.

  It is not with the benefit of hindsight that one states the Yasuda Kinan was never, ever going to be a race suitable for Winning Partners. He was taking on European Classic winners and contenders like Sayyedati and Ski Paradise.

  What makes the Winning Partners expedition to Tokyo more debatable was the very race itself. I doubt if there are many knowledgeable people in the world of racing who would have Yasuda Kinan sliding off the tongue as one of the globe's great races - regardless of prize money.

  If Hong Kong is to have a horse racing overseas there should be certain criteria - the race should be internationally known and the horse must have a realistic chance of at least running a place.

  For these, and other reasons, River Verdon's bid for the Arlington Million in 1992 was wrong. The Million itself is sliding well down the scale internationally and given its placing on the international calendar it was totally the wrong time of the year for River Verdon.

  He had to make do with a more hurried preparation than his patient trainer David Hill would clearly have liked and he had to undertake a most taxing journey to tackle local and overseas horses of considerable quality.

  In the context of what has gone before, let us examine the Melbourne Cup.

  The race itself is a fantastic experience, truly one of world racing's most spectacular events. The hype and drama that surrounds the race has to be seen and experienced to believe.

  But stripped off the gloss, glamour, mass media coverage and public adulation, the Melbourne Cup is very simply a handicap that attracts a field with, at times, startlingly ordinary credentials.

  That does not detract an iota from the occasion - but it does make it a race where a champion like River Verdon can assert himself meaningfully.

  Jockey John Marshall, whose brief association with River Verdon has resulted in arguably the champion's two most telling victories, is not one given to rash statements. But he is convinced the horse is of Group standard in Australia and he knows what it takes to win a Melbourne Cup.

  In the event of a Flemington raid in November, he would be riding the Hong Kong champion - and Marshall has ridden placed horses of inferior quality to River Verdon in the Melbourne Cup before.

  Given that the relatively lightly raced River Verdon has never gone better in his life - and that he would run out the 3,200 metres - then the Melbourne Cup is a logical target.

  Without doubt, he would have the beating of the vast majority of the Australian contenders but it is doubtful if he would be up to European Classic-winning standard.

  But it is impossible to believe that given a suitable preparation at the hands of Hill and with Marshall aboard, River Verdon would let anybody down. He is simply too good to do that.

  The Melbourne Cup is no pipe dream - but there are problems.

  Like the thorny question of quarantine. Then there are costs and acclimatisation factors to be taken into account - plus the likelihood of missing the International Races. It must always be borne in mind that River Verdon, for his age, is an incredibly lightly-raced horse and Sunday's win was little more than an extended workout.

  But River Verdon is a true champion and it is unlikely that Hong Kong will see his like again for a long, long time - regardless of the money being freely spent on yearlings around the globe. This one is very, very special.

  However, he will have very few realistic chances to race meaningfully overseas again as he approaches his eighth year.

  But he does have the Melbourne Cup in November. That's his race.



Melbourne Cup is no pipe dream for majestic River Verdon