The early entry into quarantine of one of this year’s Sportingbet Cox Plate (2040m) invitees has Racing Victoria’s International Recruitment Officer Leigh Jordon optimistic this year’s $3 million event will again boast multiple international runners.
Dan Excel, the John Moore-trained galloper who won last month’s Group 1 Singapore International Cup (2000m), on Thursday enters quarantine in Hong Kong to be readied for a trip to Australia.
It will come just a day after he was one of 10 international horses announced as recipients of the Moonee Valley Racing Club’s official Cox Plate invitations.
After serving two weeks quarantine in Hong Kong, Dan Excel will head to Sydney’s Eastern Creek for a further stint of quarantine before heading to his owner’s Sydney farm ahead of being prepared for his trip to Melbourne at Moore’s brother Gary’s Rosehill base.
“He’ll kick off training at Rosehill before he gets transferred down here to Melbourne to run in a couple of lead-up races, although the stable haven’t decided which ones they are just yet,” Jordon said of the Shamardal six-year-old.
“So him going into quarantine suggests, barring injury in the lead-up, he’s a definite, which is great. It’s good to be able to lock one away as early as this.”
Dan Excel was one of three Moore-trained runners who received invitations. Hong Kong Derby (2000m) and Queen Elizabeth II Cup (2000m) winner Designs On Rome was another, but his first overseas venture will most likely be to Dubai next year, while Military Attack was Moore’s other invitee.
Another son of Shamardal, the William Haggas-trained Mukhadram, and French galloper Smoking Sun are two other invitees that Jordon spoke optimistically about.
“Smoking Sun is raced by the same owners of Maxius, who was a horse that was a bit of as chance to come last year, so I hold a bit of hope for him,” Jordon said of the five-year-old who was runner-up to Dan Excel in Singapore.
“William Haggas came here a couple of years ago in a reconnaissance mission, he stayed a week and went down to quarantine, attended the races and sussed it all out.
“I think he’d been keen to come to Melbourne with the right horse.
“Mukhadram ran second in the Dubai World Cup, he races up on the pace and would be ideal for the Cox Plate, so we’re interested to see how he goes in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot next week.”
Jordon said that while French champion Cirrus Des Aigles and Dubai World Cup winner African Story were worthy invitees, they were probably in the unlikely category, but he has not given up hope on Japanese star Just A Way – the world’s highest rated horse – or Frankel’s younger brother Noble Mission.
“There’s been talk of the Arc de Triomphe (Longchamp, 5 October) for Just A Way, but we’re not totally no chance,” he said. “We’ll be giving it a red-hot go with him.
“I spoke to the trainer in Hong Kong last year, at Dubai earlier in the year and I saw him when I went to Japan recently and he’s basically not saying yes and not saying no.
“Noble Mission falls into the same camp. I’ve been talking to Prince Khalid Abdullah’s racing manager Lord Teddy Grimthorpe and, again, he’s not ruling it in but not ruling it out.
“When they’re not ruling it out, you remain a chance of enticing them down under.”
Irish Derby winner Trading Leather, prepared by Jim Bolger and now owned by Godolphin, was the other horse issued an invitation.
The MVRC pays the travel expenses for not only the horses, but also the trainer, jockey, owner and stable staff of invited horses.
Last year, internationally-trained gallopers Side Glance and Mull of Killough took up invitations with Side Glance running sixth, before backing up and winning the Mackinnon Stakes at Flemington, while Mull of Killough finished 11th before running fourth in the Group 1 Emirates Stakes (1600m).
Yesterday’s were the first round of invites with a second round to be issued at a later date and Jordon said events of coming weeks would alter that.
“They were only the first round of invites, there’s Royal Ascot next week, there’s Group 1 races in France and England and Japan over the next month or so, so it will be interesting to see others emerge.”
– Racing Victoria
