Mark Newnham’s terrific start to the season rolled on with a National Day double that not only put him on top of the trainers’ championship but unearthed a possible Classic Mile contender in Invincible Ibis.
The Australian trainer struck with Invincible Ibis and Max Que to take his tally to eight wins from seven meetings – enough to edge one clear of Caspar Fownes in the early standings.
While happy with the fast start, Newnham isn’t getting carried away.
“Regarding the championship, come check back and ask me about it sometime in July next year,” he said with a smile.
What excites him more is the trajectory of Invincible Ibis, whose early-season form mirrors that of last year’s Classic Mile hero My Wish.
“At this stage they’re all in the mix. At this stage last year, no one had My Wish going there, including me. Well, at least not with that level of confidence, but this horse’s form is not dissimilar to My Wish. Invincible Ibis was beaten in his first three starts, and My Wish was beaten in his first two,” Newnham said of the comparison.
Like My Wish, Invincible Ibis has followed the same path – running on opening day and again on National Day – and, just like his stablemate, is building steadily.
Newnham hopes that with continued improvement, Invincible Ibis can earn his way into the Classic Mile field.
“It depends on their level of improvement. You can’t put a cap on it until they reach that level and then you know they’ve reached their mark,” the trainer said. “My Wish has kept improving, but some others just end up just being Class 3 horses, because they don’t improve any further.”
The stable’s second winner, Max Que, justified strong support – “brown-lamped” in betting to start HK$3.9 second pick – and fought hard to edge Silvery Breeze by a short head in a blanket finish, denying trainer David Eustace his first win of the season.
“I thought he’d run very well,” Newnham said. “He was consistent last season and the form in his races last season was very good. He was beaten by Dazzling Fit and was unlucky against him, so he didn’t need to improve a lot coming into this year. And he drew the right gate with a light weight and he was in the right spot."
