Jack Dawling
Mark Newnham ensured he would be heading to Sunday's BMW Hong Kong Derby with his stable in tip-top form after the trainer collected a comfortable win just 30 minutes after an agonizing defeat at Happy Valley last night.
Newnham will find out which gate his Derby runner, My Wish, will jump from at this morning's barrier draw, but before then, the trainer is taking comfort in the knowledge that his yard is firing on all cylinders after Power Koepp swept to an impressive win at the city track.
"The stable is in form, My Wish is in form and the jockey [Luke Ferraris] is in form, so we can't ask for anything more than that," Newnham told The Standard.
While Power Koepp had not won since May 2023, he sprung to life on his first run for Newnham and powered clear of his Class 4 rivals under Hugh Bowman. Despite the galloper waiting nearly two years between drinks, his 1,200-meter success didn't come as a great surprise to the Australian trainer, who hopped aboard the seven-year-old in the buildup to his stable debut.
"I had a couple of rides on him since he arrived and he was feeling really good for an old horse," Newnham said. "It was just a matter of him getting that winning feeling back and it was quite a comfortable watch in the end.
"He got into the right spot and once Hugh produced him, it looked like he had plenty of horse underneath him and the horse did the rest."
Power Koepp prevailed by a length and a half just half an hour after Newnham's charge, Youthful Spirits, was narrowly touched off in the previous race, a Class 3 over 1,000m.
Youthful Spirits used his customary early speed and led for all but the final stride, where the David Eustace-trained Colourful King got his head in front at the all-important moment.
"Youthful Spirits is a hard horse to win with and everyone knows what he's going to do," Newnham said. "It's just that last 50 meters which is always a challenge.
"Tonight I thought he held on but at least we had a winner soon after so I was in a better mood straight away," he added with a laugh.
Looking ahead to Sunday's Derby, Newnham will hope My Wish can add to his victory in the first leg of the four-year-old series, the Classic Mile, when he steps up to 2,000m for the first time.
jack.dawling@singtaonewscorp.com
Power Koepp, ridden by Hugh Bowman, waited nearly two years between wins. SING TAO
Mark Newnham
