Able Friend will be primed and ready for the challenge when he lines up in the Group 1 Champions Mile at Sha Tin on Sunday 3 May. That is the word from trainer John Moore, who will saddle four of the seven contenders for the HK$14 million purse.
The 2013 Champions Mile victor Dan Excel, the much improved Rewarding Hero and the smart Secret Sham will also be in the line-up, but the bulk of the pre-race attention is resting on their esteemed stable mate.
Able Friend, the world’s equal top-rated horse according to the latest official rankings, heads into Sunday riding the crest of a five-race wave that has swept away all-comers and reaped five straight wins - three at G1 level. But his last start, although producing an expected win in the HKG2 Chairman’s Trophy at the course and distance, lacked just enough of the imperious dominance that has come to be associated with Able Friend to send a splash of hope in the direction of his rivals.
“I’m expecting Able Friend to run a lot better than he did last start,” said Moore this morning (Tuesday 28 April). “When you’ve got these champions everyone is expecting them to go out and win by margins. Look at Black Caviar when she won in England, it was a head-bobber there and people said she wasn’t so special!
“I really hadn’t put my foot down, with respect to his prep for that last race,” he revealed. “Being a big fellow that he is, he needs to keep ticking over to keep that fitness level required to perform at the top level. This time he’s going in a really fit horse. He looks really well in the coat and Joao (Moreira) mentioned after his work at the end of last week that he thought he was the best he’s been for a long time.”
The strapping Shamardal five-year-old, who has already annexed the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Mile, G1 Stewards’ Cup (1600m) and G1 Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup (1400m) this term, galloped on the all-weather track last Thursday under Moreira. The chestnut went 1200m and clocked 23.7s for the final 400m.
“His final bit of work will be on Thursday down the back, on the turf, and that will just finish his prep off,” said Moore, who saddled Able Friend to run second behind the South African champion Variety Club in last year’s G1 Champions Mile. The Australian handler is wary of another rival this time around.
“Of course we’ve got Luger this time and we're not taking anything away from the fact that Luger’s definitely going to give us a run for our money,” he said. “I think he’s a horse with serious potential, considering he was three deep in the Derby and then skedaddled and won easily. It’s good from a patrons’ point of view that they’re going to see two top horses fight out a finish and I’m looking forward to the battle. Luger could well be off at the 300m and we’ll be chasing, and it will be up to Able Friend, with that devastating turn-of-foot that he’s got, to get on terms and we’ll see how the race finishes off. But I’m going to have the horse there one-o-one (per cent) fit.”
Moore has an outstanding record in the Champions Mile having won five of the last eight renewals (2007 & 2010 Able One, 2011 & 2012 Xtension, 2013 Dan Excel). One of those past winners, Dan Excel, will take his chance again on Sunday, although the tough seven-year-old’s main target this term is a repeat win in next month’s G1 Singapore Airlines International Cup (2000m) at Kranji.
“Tommy (Berry) is coming in to ride Dan Excel in prep for the Singapore Airlines International Cup,” said Moore. The horse has done everything right, he looks great in the coat now, they did a great job with the minor throat surgery he had down in Sydney and he seems to be thriving. His last two runs have been great and from that point of view we’re right on target for this race to take us into Singapore. It’s going to be tough with Luger and Able Friend, but if he could finish third or fourth in the race we’d be very pleased.”
Moore is also looking to pick up good prize money with Rewarding Hero. The six-year-old was on the cusp of a first Class 1 handicap win at this stage last year but has improved markedly since and has placed third behind Able Friend in the G1 Stewards’ Cup and the HKG2 Chairman’s Trophy this year.
“Rewarding Hero has just gone forwards this term,” said the trainer. “At the back end of last season we knew he had potential but we didn't really think he was going to go this high. He made a run at Able Friend the other day and he looked like he was going to make a bit of a race of it. He’s done everything right, he’s really going well at the present moment so, again, like Dan Excel, if he could run third or fourth I’d be delighted.
“As for Secret Sham, I think he has got to a stage at this time in the season that he’s just feeling the pinch a bit. I think he’s a bit over the top and this could be one of his last runs this season. There could be one more race after this, but I feel his last run he was a pretty tired sort of a horse, so he might be just making up numbers.”
The Champions Mile, which ranked 17th in the 2014 list of the World’s Top 100 Group 1 Races, will also feature the Tony Cruz-trained Beauty Flame who has been runner-up to Able Friend in each of his last three starts. As well as this season’s exciting HKG1 BMW Hong Kong Derby winner Luger, John Size will saddle the smart Real Specialist.
