There will be another Eustace among the names for Sha Tin’s LONGINES Hong Kong International Races on Sunday (14 December) once again with David’s brother Harry hoping for a more prominent showing from his stable star Docklands.
The elder sibling of one of Hong Kong’s brightest training talents has had a banner year himself, with Docklands becoming his first top-level winner in the G1 Queen Anne Stakes (1600m) at Royal Ascot in June.
Now a very experienced five-year-old, he bids to improve upon last year’s 12th-placed finish when tackling the HK$36 million G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Mile (1600m).
The son of Massaat was most recently a staying-on ninth behind Jantar Mantar in the G1 Mile Championship (1600m) in Kyoto on 23 November.
“He ran his race,” Eustace said of the last run. “We were drawn 16 of 18, got too far back, but he came home well. When I looked at the result again, the winner won by a couple of lengths but we weren’t far away from actually being involved with the rest. I think with a better draw, we’d have been among them. So, we’re very happy and it was a brilliant experience.”
Looking towards his challenge at Sha Tin, Eustace points to some encouraging factors.
“Last year was maybe a messy second half of the year for him because we were tilting towards the Cox (Plate, G1) over 2040m,” he said.
“He ran well in the Queen Anne, then City Of Troy’s Juddmonte International, then the Cox Plate, took on Via Sistina again in the Champion Stakes, then went back to a sharp mile in Hong Kong.
“I feel this year versus last year, he’s obviously a better horse and more consistent and competitive at the top level.
“I hope it’s stood him in good stead for travelling again. If we could get an OK draw, I think he could show up a bit better than he did last year, that’s for sure.”
