Four in a Row in HK Mile for Glorious Karaka

Karaka graduates’ outstanding record in the Group 1 HK$20,000,000 Hong Kong Mile continued last night with Glorious Days (Hussonet) becoming the fourth consecutive winner of the world’s richest mile race to have gone through the sale ring at Karaka.

Glorious Days triumphant in the Group 1 Hong Kong Mile last night. Photo courtesy of HKJC.

Glorious Days’ sensational win follows victories by Able One (NZ) (Cape Cross), Beauty Flash (NZ (Golan) and Ambitious Dragon (NZ) (Pins) in the previous three runnings of the highly regarded event at Hong Kong’s International Race Meeting.

Trained by John Size, Glorious Days entered the race in a fresh state, having not raced since an unsuccessful Japanese Group 1 attempt in June. The six-year-old gelding was runner up in last year’s running of the race, finishing a gallant second to fellow Karaka graduate Ambitious Dragon (NZ) (Pins).

A strong international field was assembled for the Group Hong Kong Mile that included six-time Group 1 winner Moonlight Cloud (Invincible Spirit) from France, along with Sky Lantern (Red Clubs), a four-time Group 1 winner from Ireland. The race also included an array of Hong Kong’s top-performers and challengers from Japan, and Australia through Linton (Galileo), a NZB Ready to Run graduate.

Glorious Days was twice offered at New Zealand Bloodstock Sales, first at the 2009 Karaka Premier Sale then at the 2009 Ready to Run Sale, both times unable to meet his reserve when offered by Lyndhurst Farm.

The son of Hussonet went to the trials, showing plenty of ability and was sold by Cambridge bloodstock agent Bryce Tankard to Hong Kong clients. He had one start in New Zealand for Stephen McKee, winning impressively and booking his ticket to Hong Kong.

Glorious Days was grown on New Zealand’s rich pastures from the time he was a weanling and was educated expertly by Mark and Shelley Treweek of Lyndhurst Farm.

“We actually bought Glorious Days as a foal at foot on the mare San Century in Australia,” explained Mark Treweek. “It was a three-way deal with him at foot and the mare back in foal to Hussonet. We left the mare in Australia but weaned the foal and sent him back home.

“We took Glorious Days to the Karaka Yearling Sales, he turned out in one of his front feet and was quite a light-framed horse and we just couldn’t sell him. We then set him for the Ready to Run Sale and he ran our fastest time at the Breeze Ups that year.

“People actually liked the horse at the Ready to Run Sale but due to his foot turning out vets had some concerns at that stage.

“He was a very slow horse to break-in, he was so lazy and relaxed and he used to get lapped by the other horses but once he got working and up over a certain speed he would just fly.

 “We knew he could gallop so we carried on with him and took him to the trials. We won two trials with him and in his second trial win James McDonald rode him over 800m, he broke 46 seconds and won by seven or eight lengths.

“He seemed pretty special, every time we galloped him he went enormous and then Bryce Tankard purchased him to go to Hong Kong.

“It shows you what is available out there if people want to do the hard yards. He was a horse that didn’t appeal to everyone but he had a great stride on him and had gears.

“His acceleration was enormous, he would fool you with the times he would run. You would think he would only be doing three-quarter pace yet he was running a great time so we knew we had something special then.

“We are sellers and we moved him on to carry with others. It is great to watch him carry on and be a good horse that’s for sure.

 “Even though we do not own him anymore it is still very satisfying still. We had a lot to do with him early in his life and it’s a great feeling when they go out and win like that.

“John Size has handled him really well because he was a light-framed horse and he has taken his time with him and has not over-raced him, he is a great trainer.”

Glorious Days was named the 2011/12 season’s Most Improved Horse at the Hong Kong Champion Awards with last night’s victory becoming the eighth win from 17 starts for the gelding that started his career with three-length debut victory at Te Rapa.

The colours of Glorious Days are familiar in New Zealand with the promising Glorious Lad (NZ) (Falkirk) carrying the same silks for trainer Shaune Ritchie to two wins from four starts including a last-start second in the Group 3 Wellington Stakes.

Bred by R Pietrykowski, Glorious Days is out of an unraced Centaine mare San Century, the dam of Australian Stakes winner Spurcent (Flying Spur) and the full-brother to Glorious Days in Bangalore Bullet (Hussonet), bred by the Treweeks, who was the winner of the Listed Dunedin Guineas and Listed Gore Guineas before heading to Hong Kong as well.

Centaine has carved a reputation as a champion broodmare sire with Glorious Days becoming the 21st Group 1 winner out of a Centaine mare. The former Waikato Stud sire has left a lasting impression on the New Zealand breeding industry and his success have been recognised with one of the three stallion awards at the New Zealand Horse of the Year named in his honour.

Ridden by Hong Kong’s champion jockey Douglas Whyte in Sunday’s feature, Glorious Days settled well-back in the 14-horse field from barrier number 13. Entering the straight, all eyes were on superstar mare Moonlight Cloud who been had drawn to the outside for her run but it was Glorious Days, on her inner, that produced a spectacular turn of foot to burst to the front and race away with illustrious race.

It was a sweet success for owners Tom Brown's Syndicate following the horse’s runner-up placing in last year’s race.