First-season trainer Brett Crawford has one eye on next season’s major targets, with Mr Incredible chasing rating points for the Four-Year-Old Classic Series at Sha Tin and Galaxy Patch set for a Hong Kong Mile path after his Premier Cup second.
Crawford hopes this weekend’s Class 3 test can push Mr Incredible up the ratings and give him a cleaner path towards next season’s Classic Series.
The three-year-old has won two of his three starts, most recently putting three and three-quarter lengths on his Class 4 rivals. He rises in grade off a mark of 70, with Crawford keen to give him another chance to earn points before the season ends.
Crawford said the outing is not just about that, but also bringing Mr Incredible on for what comes next.
“And just to get him race-ready for a tough campaign next season,” Crawford said. “He’s done well since his last run, and he had a really good trial. He’s done well physically. I think he’s appreciated the gap between runs. He’s still a young horse and still has a lot to learn, so I’m very happy with him.”
The Classic Mile is still more than seven months away, but Crawford wants a strong performance to help shape the way he gets Mr Incredible there.
“I’d like to think he’s good enough for the Classic Mile, so for sure that will be the target,” Crawford said. “I’d like to build him up to that distance. That’s why it’d be nice if he does well on the weekend, then at the start of the new season we can go straight into a seven-furlong and build from there.”
Mr Incredible has drawn barrier two, with regular partner Karis Teetan aboard who has been central to Crawford’s first Hong Kong season, riding 45 per cent of the stable’s runners and partnering 13 of its 23 winners.
Crawford also has plans in place for the stable’s highest-rated horse, Galaxy Patch, who had his first start for the yard in last weekend’s Group 3 Premier Cup over 1,400 meters.
Crawford is no stranger to top-level success after his decorated career in South Africa, and Galaxy Patch now shapes as his first serious Group 1 chance in Hong Kong. The six-year-old’s slashing second to Little Paradise in the Premier Cup was enough for him to start working back from the Hong Kong Mile in December.
“I was over the moon with his run. I thought it was a really good effort, giving away 15 pounds to one of the best four-year-olds of the season and only going down a neck. I thought it was a great effort.
“Ideally, we’d like to try and stick to the set-weight races if we can, but I mean, it’s not that easy. He’s up another two points, he’s up to 120 again, so a holiday will be on the cards again for him now and the Hong Kong Mile will be his main mission, so we’ll work back from there.”
Crawford saddles eight runners at Saturday’s twilight meeting at Sha Tin, with Lunar Dash among those trending the right way since joining the stable.
“I thought his last run was good. He hit the line well, but obviously he was still in need of it. We’ve stepped him up in trip, but we’ll ride him a bit differently. We’ll ride him a bit quieter, and I think he’ll do his best work late.”
Another recent stable acquisition, Autumn Vibes, is also coming along well and heads into Saturday third-up after a nose second last start.
“I think we’re winning slowly but surely with him. I think it showed in his last start – the key for him is to get out of the gates well and be able to get in some sort of rhythm.”
