Rich Tapestry has arrived at Santa Anita for the first leg of his two-race American challenge, the G1 Santa Anita Sprint Championship (1200m, dirt) on Saturday 4 October. Trainer Michael Chang reports that his stable star is in good heart after the long flight to California from Hong Kong.
“He took the flight well. He’s a good traveller - he loves it. He’s settling in fine,” said Chang of the six-year-old, who will use Saturday’s contest as a lead-up to the G1 Breeders’ Cup Sprint over the same course and distance on 1 November.
Rich Tapestry arrived in the US on Saturday and has already stretched his legs on the Santa Anita dirt.
“He left the quarantine this morning (Monday - US Pacific Time) and went straight to the racecourse,” said Chang, speaking from California. “When he arrived at the track he was very relaxed. I gave him a 1600m canter and he came back fine. The horse is happy, he’s eating well and he seems to be taking the new environment in his stride.”
The Holy Roman Emperor gelding, winner of the G3 Mahab Al Shimaal (1200m) and runner-up in the G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen (1200m) on Meydan’s Tapeta track in Dubai earlier this year, will have a final gallop later this week.
“I will give him a steady canter over 2000m on Tuesday and he will canter again on Wednesday,” revealed Chang. “I will give him a final gallop on Thursday, a good workout over 600m, just to open up his wind and make sure he’ll be ready for Saturday.”
Rich Tapestry is the first Hong Kong-trained horse to target a race in the US since River Verdon contested the G1 Arlington Million in 1992.
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Rich Tapestry has arrived at Santa Anita for the G1 Santa Anita Sprint Championship this Saturday.
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