He might be returning home for Saturday’s mega-rich The Everest (1,200m) at Randwick in Sydney, but six-time Hong Kong champion jockey Zac Purton has been lumped with the visitor’s draw aboard In Secret.
Trained by James Cummings, In Secret will race in the Godolphin slot and it will be interesting to see the tactics Purton employs from gate 12 of 12 in his first ride in the A$20 million (HK$99 million) dash.
“In Secret’s drawn the outside gate in a race where there’s not much speed. She’s not a go-forward horse, so she’s going to have to settle back,” the Australian jockey said.
“It depends how the race is run really, but with the lack of speed it could become a little bit hard for her to make up the ground.”
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1200m, $1.500.000
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(3F I Am Invincible x Eloping, by Choisir)
J :Dean Holland
T : James Cummings
O :Godolphin
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In Secret is around a $10 chance in a contest where I Wish I Win and Think About It are jostling for favouritism, while Hugh Bowman has joined Purton in jetting in for the race and will partner outsider Espiona.
Bowman and Purton also line up in the Group One King Charles III Stakes (1,600m) on the Randwick card, with Bowman partnering Joseph O’Brien’s Buckaroo and Purton jumping aboard Light Infantry Man for Ciaron Maher and David Eustace.
“His form in Europe is solid without winning. Now he comes to Australia and we’re waiting to see what we’re going to get, really,” Purton said of a galloper whose name has changed from Light Infantry to Light Infantry Man because of a clash in Australia.
“If he brings his best, he’s competitive, but it just depends how he’s travelled. With a different tempo, different track, different race pattern – it’s hard to know how to measure him up.”
Bowman’s big week: the Valley, ‘probably the most open Everest’, and Spangle
While Purton has drawn gate six aboard Light Infantry Man, he begins from double-figure alleys aboard each of his other four rides.
Pericles is considered the best chance to defy his wide gate, with the gelding a $4.20 favourite in overseas fixed-odds markets despite drawing barrier 13 for the Silver Eagle (1,300m).
Purton also rides Zapateo and Nails Murphy, while Bowman’s book also features Snowman, Cavalier Charles, Airman and Madame Pommery.
The Everest meeting will be part of the World Pool for the first time this weekend, with the Jockey Club offering nine races for betting.
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