Royal Victory only just failed to defend his crown in the HKJC World Pool Premier’s Champions Challenge. He is pictured with trainer Nathan Kotzen after last year’s race. (Candiese Lenferna Photography).
Nathan Kotzen said his stalwart Pathfork gelding Royal Victory had pulled up well from his run in Saturday’s Gr 1 HKJC World Pool Premier’s Champions Challenge, in which he narrowly failed to defend his title.
Kotzen said, “He is sound and he is eating up, all is good.”
Kotzen will give the five-year-old a break before finding two races for him as a build up into the Gr 1 Hollywoodbets Durban July.
Kotzen felt the outcome of the objection lodged by Muzi Yeni in Saturday’s race had been “unfair”.
He felt Royal Victory had been on the receiving end of two bumps that had cost him momentum.
However, he was philosophical at the same time and said, “The stipendiary stewards decided the bumps were not bad enough and that’s racing.”
Yeni had understandably changed whiphands close to home into the right hand as the normal raceriding tactic would be to drift towards the chief protagonist.
However, he likely did not expect Fire Attack to drift that far across towards him.
Kotzen said that in retrospect Yeni might have been better off keeping Royal Victory on a straight path i.e. either keeping the whip in the left hand or driving the horse out with his hands.
However, the race is over and Fire Attack was a deserving winner as it did not pan out well for him, being caught wide early on.
Royal Victory had jumped from the second highest draw, one inside of Fire Attack, and he had sat at the back in the running where he relaxed beautifully,
He showed his usual fine turn of foot in the straight.
Attention now turns to the handicappers.
Atticus Finch is the current holder of the Summer Cup and might be used as the line horse off his 121 merit rating as that will see Royal Victory being raised one point back to 125, the mark he was given after winning last year’s Premier’s and which he only lost after a below par run at Hollywoodbets Scottsville in February, a run which he likely needed.
In that case Fire Attack will be given 126, which will represent a ten point raise, while Purple Pitcher, who beat Atticus Finch by 0,30 lengths, will probably stay on the 123 rating he has been consistent off.
