Apollo Ng will be as engaged as anyone when Ka Ying Rising runs in The Everest, but he won’t be trackside at Randwick to witness arguably the world’s best sprinter take on Australia’s premier short-course horses.
The Hong Kong-based agent, breeder and owner will be racking up the frequent flyer points to and from Australia over the next few weeks and for that reason he will forgo the opportunity to be in Sydney for the Inglis Ready2Race Sale and the frivolity at The Everest.
On the Gold Coast this week for the Magic Millions Horses in Training Sale - he paid $170,000 for a Hong Kong-bound son of Written By at the Gold Coast on Thursday - Ng will return to Hong Kong on Friday before heading to Melbourne in three weeks’ time.
And the purpose of Ng’s second trip to Australia within weeks will be one of redemption for he and trainer John Sargent who 11 years ago almost completed the Flemington fillies’ double with Thunder Lady, the winner of the Wakeful Stakes on the Saturday before finishing runner-up to Set Square in the Group 1 VRC Oaks five days later.
This time, Ng and members of the Hong Kong Thoroughbred Breeders’ Alliance, which also includes prominent businessman and Muskoka Farm shareholder David Boehm, Ng will combine with Sargent to chase an elusive Group 1 victory.
They have the aptly named Breeders Sun, a daughter of The Autumn Sun who ran a luckless second in a 1600m maiden at Goulburn on Tuesday, heading to Melbourne for the three-year-old fillies’ classic.
“At the moment, I think the omen is that the filly is still a maiden. At that point in time, when we ran Thunder Lady in the Wakeful, she was still a maiden,” Ng recalled.
“With John Sargent, he's always planning towards the Wakeful-Oaks double and that's what she is going towards.
“And for our alliance, our members will be heading down to Melbourne. Not only are we going to Flemington for those races, but also we'll be going to visit racing establishments over in Victoria. We're going to visit Yulong and we’re going to visit Lindsay Park.
“I've also spoken to Inglis, we're going to go to Inglis and let them show us a bit of a sales routine as some members who might not have attended any sales whatsoever. Of course, Living Legends is always a place which we should visit.”
Breeders Sun is out of Dawnie Perfect, who won the Etehreal Stakes and ran fourth in the Wakeful 10 years ago.
Ng won’t be in Sydney for The Everest next week where Hong Kong’s superstar Ka Ying Rising will start odds-on favourite for the $20 million race as he wants to be at Sha Tin to watch a David Hayes-trained stablemate Tomodachi Kokoroe.
A first-up winner in September, the Written Tycoon gelding could take on Ka Ying Rising in the Group 1 Hong Kong Sprint in December if things go to plan.
“Last time out, he surprised us by clocking 1:07.76, which is the third fastest time in Hong Kong over 1200m,” Ng said.
“It's not too bad if he can run a faster time than Sacred Kingdom or Silent Witness, right?
“So, I'll be flying back, but my colleague Eddie Lam will be coming back for the Inglis sale and The Everest because I've been to The Everest a couple of times.”
Hong Kong buyers spent more than $1.15 million at the Magic Millions Horses in Training Sale, purchasing 10 two-year-olds led by trainer Michael Chang who paid $320,000 for a Pierata colt.
He is by the same sire as the Chang-trained Babieca, a talented three-year-old who ran three times at Sha Tin as a two-year-old.
