The Mark Newnham trained Flying Artie gelding My Wish was crowned Most Improved Horse at the annual awards night in Hong Kong at the end of last season and has wasted no time confirming that potential with a dazzling first up win in the Group III Celebration Cup (1400m) at Sha Tin on Sunday.
My Wish was sent out favourite, but gave punters some anxious moments when held up for a run, however when Luke Ferraris got him into the clear the race was quickly put to bed.
My Wish let down with an impressive turn of foot when the gap appeared going on to win by more than a length.
Winner of the HK$13 million Hong Kong Classic Mile (1600m) and second in the HK$26 million BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m) last season, My Wish enhanced his overall record to five wins and five minor placings from 12 starts and prizemoney of HK$22.7 million.
“The sky is the limit with him and whatever we throw at him, he takes and does better so it’s really exciting going forward,” said Luke Ferraris.
“(Last season) he’s finished a length behind Voyage Bubble and it probably wasn’t his best performance when beaten by Red Lion at the end of last ‘prep’ – which was a tough ‘prep’ – but with a freshen up and now that he’s filled out a bit, I don’t know where the ceiling is.”
Mark Newnham will now plot a path to the HK$36 million G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Mile (1600m) in December.
“He’s a really good, tenacious little horse. He certainly showed today that he’s made improvement from last season and he’s going to be a force the rest of the season. It was actually one of the last things I said to Luke. I said ‘just trust the horse – you know when you need him, he’ll be there’,” said Newnham.
“It did look a little complicated there for a few strides but once he got the gap, he put them away quite well. He’ll have the Group 2 miles – one next month (G2 Sha Tin Trophy Handicap) and one in November (G2 BOCHK Private Wealth Jockey Club Mile) – leading into December.”
“It’s a good way to start the season but we’ve still got the A-graders to come yet, so he’s got to improve a little bit more. But I think it’s there.”
My Wish is the first foal of Reset mare Set The Tone, a winner over 2100m, from a family which includes Group I winners Mazu and Headway.
After producing My Wish, she wasn’t served again until 2023 when she returned to Flying Artie, producing a full brother to My Wish last year before being served by Hawaii Five Oh.
Flying Artie is one of the best value sires in Victoria and is priced at $11,000 at Blue Gum Farm.
