Tag Archive for: Sea King

Hollie Doyle set for Melbourne Cup ride on Sea King

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Hollie Doyle is set to partner Sea King in the Melbourne Cup after Harry Eustace’s gelding booked his spot in the Flemington showpiece by cruising to victory in the Bendigo Cup.

The five-year-old was making his debut for Eustace in the Group Three contest, having previously raced for Sir Mark Prescott in Britain, with his 18 starts encompassing five wins and a notable sixth in the Ebor last time out.

Subsequently purchased by OTI Racing and sent to Eustace, Sea King was well supported for the 12-furlong feature, with jockey Declan Bates riding with supreme confidence, allowing his mount to stride on round the field approaching the turn for home before pulling well clear in the straight.

Speaking to Grosvenor Sport, Eustace said: “We now can’t wait to run him in the (Melbourne) Cup, should we pass the vets’ scans.

“Obviously, the Ebor form looks strong, finishing ahead of Geelong Cup winner Onesmoothoperator, and I think the two-mile trip should be fine.

“You’d have to think he’ll be competitive off the back of today’s win, so it’ll just be a case of whether he’s classy enough to go and win it.

“Declan Bates is unfortunately not able to do the weight in the Cup, so we’re lining Hollie Doyle up to take the ride, which would be a great booking.

“Based on his run today, if he can repeat that under Hollie, you’d like to think we’re going there with a live chance.”

Eustace and OTI Racing teamed up to finish fifth with Docklands in last Saturday’s Cox Plate and the trainer was delighted to see travelling companion Sea King sparkle on his Australian bow.

He added: “It was very exciting to see. We felt he’d really thrived in quarantine, but you never really know how well they are until they hit the track, so we were thrilled with how dominant he was in the end at Bendigo.

“It’s also a massive milestone for us as a team in winning our first Group race. It’s probably taken a little longer than we’d have liked, but to have achieved it in such an important race as we plot our way to the (Melbourne) Cup is huge.

“Any international winner is a big result too, especially in Australia at the moment as it’s becoming harder and harder to get horses running down here.

“I have to give a lot of credit to Terry (Henderson) and the team from OTI Racing. They took the plunge to buy him with this dream in mind and also to give us the confidence to send him down here alongside Docklands. Hopefully we can pull it off for them!”

Regarding the all-important medical examination, Eustace said: “Sea King will now undergo new CT scans on Thursday which will determine whether we’re allowed to run on Tuesday.

“He’s passed them before, and he’s not a younger horse like Jan Brueghel, so fingers crossed he’ll pass them, and we’ll be rocking and rolling on to the Cup.”

Impressive Cox Plate victor Via Sistina had been towards the head of the Melbourne Cup betting, but owners Yulong Investments have decided to bypass the Flemington highlight in favour of sticking at 10 furlongs for the Champions Stakes on Saturday week.

“We would desperately love to win a Melbourne Cup and we’ve probably got the best chance we’re ever going to have,” said Yulong’s general manager Vin Cox to Racing.com.

“But at the end of the day, the ultimate goal wasn’t the Melbourne Cup, it was the Cox Plate.

“The Melbourne Cup was then a bit of an afterthought, rather than the primary motivator – and afterthoughts tend not to end well on a racetrack.

“We all had to get our feet back on the ground, take all the emotion out of it and look at it analytically.”



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Sea King reigns for Eustace in Bendigo Cup

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Harry Eustace described Sea King’s comfortable victory in Wednesday’s Bendigo Cup as an “absolute dream”, with the win ensuring the gelding’s place in the Melbourne Cup field.

The five-year-old was making his debut for Eustace in the Bendigo Group Three having previously raced for Sir Mark Prescott in Britain, with his 18 starts encompassing five wins and a notable sixth in the Ebor last time out.

Subsequently purchased by OTI Racing and sent to Eustace, Sea King was well supported for the 12-furlong contest, with jockey Declan Bates riding with supreme confidence, allowing Sea King to stride on round the field approaching the turn for home before pulling well clear in the straight.

Eustace and OTI Racing teamed up to finish fifth with Docklands in last Saturday’s Cox Plate and the trainer was delighted to see travelling companion Sea King sparkle on his Australian bow.

“It’s incredibly exciting. A lot was riding on it, it’s the last win-and-you’re-in (spot) for the Cup, so it’s an absolute dream result today,” Eustace told www.racing.com.

“I’d just like to thank (OTI’s) Terry (Henderson) in particular, he managed to buy this horse just before Docklands travelled down as well and it’s proving a pretty inspired purchase.

“Curiously, coming down, we never even thought we’d get close (to a Cup Spot) and, of course, since we’ve been here the Cup, as everyone is well aware, has really started cutting up, so the closer we got to getting in, the more pressure there was I suppose.”

Eustace also praised the winning jockey, adding: “It was just a beautiful ride from Dec Bates.

“We picked him because hopefully he’d understand the European style and it wouldn’t be a sit and sprint.

“It (the mid-race move) felt like it was quite a long way out, but I was very keen to impress on him that he was more of a typical European-type horse and he’s going to work his way into it.

“He took me at my word and it came off today.”

Impressive Cox Plate victor Via Sistina had been towards the head of the Melbourne Cup betting, but owner Yulong Investments has decided to bypass the two-mile Flemington highlight in favour of sticking at 10 furlongs for the Champions Stakes on Saturday week.

“We would desperately love to win a Melbourne Cup and we’ve probably got the best chance we’re ever going to have,” said Yulong’s general manager Vin Cox.

“But at the end of the day, the ultimate goal wasn’t the Melbourne Cup, it was the Cox Plate.

“The Melbourne Cup was then a bit of an afterthought, rather than the primary motivator and afterthoughts tend not to end well on a racetrack.

“We all had to get our feet back on the ground, take all the emotion out of it and look at it analytically.”



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Harry Eustace looking forward to Australian adventure

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Harry Eustace is plotting a two-pronged assault on some of Australia’s biggest races with Docklands and Sea King.

Being owned by Australian-based syndication company OTI Racing, Docklands was always slated for a trip to the Southern Hemisphere.

Last year’s Britannia Stakes winner at Royal Ascot has performed with credit in some high-class contests this term, notably when chasing home Charyn in the Queen Anne Stakes.

Sea King was last seen finishing a staying-on sixth in the Ebor under the care of Sir Mark Prescott but the five-time scorer has since switched to Park Lodge Stables, albeit briefly.

Eustace told Grosvenor Sport: “Docklands is heading to Australia in a week’s time, where he’ll go into quarantine in preparation for his run in the Cox Plate.

“We’ve just got to mind him now and keep him happy and healthy before the race on October 26. He’ll be quarantined at Werribee, where they have a training facility for the international horses.

“Moonee Valley is a tough course, but Docklands has always been a strong-travelling horse and usually if you travel around tracks like that then you can handle it. We’re hopeful it won’t be a problem.

Royal Ascot 2023 – Day Three – Ascot Racecourse
Harry Eustace and winning connections of Docklands at Royal Ascot (John Walton/PA).

“Sea King will travel over to Australia with Docklands. He’s a horse that is relatively new to us having come from Sir Mark Prescott’s.

“It was an encouraging run from him in the Ebor last time and he shaped there as though he’d stay further – he was keeping on all the time and I think he galloped out well to the line.

“Being a good, strong stayer will make him competitive down under. He’s fit and ready to go after his run at York and we’re just keeping him ticking over now.

“He’ll run in something like the Geelong Cup or the Werribee Cup, which are win-and-you’re-in races for the Melbourne Cup and that will dictate where he ends up.

“He’s been bought to stay in Australia once he’s run for us a couple of times, whereas the plan is to come home with Docklands.”

Eustace is also ready to travel with Ascot Stakes runner-up Divine Comedy, although her journey will be much shorter.

Betfred Temple Stakes Day – Haydock Park Racecourse – Saturday 25th May
Divine Comedy in winning action at Haydock in May (Nigel French/PA).

The trainer added: “The plan is very much to go to the Irish Cesarewitch with Divine Comedy, rather than the Newmarket version, at the moment.

“It’s worth a lot more, and I think the track and hopefully the going will suit. She loves soft ground and she stayed two miles and four furlongs well at Ascot on better ground, so I think two miles and two furlongs on softer ground should be ideal conditions for her.

“She hasn’t really had her conditions since winning at Haydock in May and hopefully there is a bit more to come from her with some cut back in the ground. She’s been great for us this year.”



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