BEIJING: Golden Slipper winner Vancouver will be the star attraction at Rosehill on Saturday when racing in the colours of the China Horse Club for the first time.
But trainer John Thompson hopes the other two runners to race in the same silks will become more well known by the end of the spring.
Thompson has been part of the China Horse Club set up, taking First Seal as a yearling who delivered group 1 success and more horses have since arrived.
Mr Teo has been a very good supporter of mine and we get our share of very nice types,” Thompson said. “They buy top quality horses and to have the chance to train these international horses is great opportunity.”
Thompson steps out Jiayuguan, which had a win at Chantilly before being sent to Australia, and Orbec to start their springs at Rosehill.
Orbec, a winner of three of his eight starts, has group 1 ambitions in Sydney to start with before perhaps moving towards a Melbourne Cup. Thompson has had the French stayer for a preparation, which saw his only start in Singapore.
He has decided to start him at 1800 metres because he would simply be run off his legs over shorter journeys. However his most recent trial, when third behind dual group 1 winner Cosmic Endeavour and Bohemian Lily, pleased Thompson.
“He is improving all the time. He was bought for cups racing and we won’t see the best of him until 2400m to 3000m,” Thompson said.”His trial the other day was encouraging to see a stayer do that over 1250m.
“He is heading to the Metrop and we’ll decide whether to keep going from there. He was actually going to Melbourne earlier until they put the Metrop money up. I think you will see him doing his best work at the line on Saturday because there is long way to go.”
Jiayuguan showed promise in a three-run autumn campaign where she never really got to her ideal trip. “She is bigger, stronger but she still might still be a prep away,” Thompson said. “They have always thought she would be best at 2400m. It is getting her to that sort of trip and she might be a nice horse for the Matriarch [Stakes] at the end of the carnival.”
Thompson believes the first preparation in Australia only helped Jiayuguan. “She is going to make a nice stayer, she just struggled [in her first preparation] with the turn of foot here. Turning for home she would look the winner but they would all sprint and leave her standing and then coming to the line she would be making ground again,” he said. “She is going to better for that but might need it a bit longer than Saturday.”
Thompson’s another import from the China Horse Club, Auvray, a group 2 and 3 winner in France, has been sent for spell.
