My Wish has already provided Mark Newnham with a string of highlights this season and the Australian horseman hopes his diminutive galloper can produce a crowning performance in the HK$24 million Group 1 FWD Champions Mile (1600m) at Sha Tin on Sunday.
Winless from two starts in 2023/24, My Wish has rocketed from a rating of 54 to 101 in just eight starts this preparation with four wins, two seconds and two thirds – for prizemoney of HK$18.65 million – to emerge as one of Hong Kong’s most consistent and exciting young horses.
Weighing just under 1,000lb, My Wish has repeatedly belied his diminutive frame with herculean performances and was outstanding in the Four-Year-Old Classic Series, winning the Hong Kong Classic Mile (1600m) and running second in the Hong Kong Classic Cup (1800m) to Rubylot and the BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m) to Cap Ferrat.
His rattling effort to surge from the tail of the field on the turn in the BMW Hong Kong Derby ultimately saw him finish a short head shy of victory but, in doing so, the Flying Artie gelding clocked the fastest final 400m sectional – 21.39s – in a 2000m race at Sha Tin since 2008, eclipsing the times of champions such as Golden Sixty and Romantic Warrior.
“He started the season as a maiden and now he’s running in Group 1 races. He was the most consistent and best performed of the four-year-olds,” Newnham said.
“What’s been encouraging has been over the last couple of weeks those horses coming out of the Derby are all racing very well, albeit in Class 2 races, but it’s nice to see that they’ve adapted and taken on the older horses and been able to beat them.
“It shows they’re a good group of four-year-olds, even though he’s going to a different level again to those horses, it’s encouraging to see the form standing up.
“He (My Wish) was small, light, anxious sort of horse when he arrived and I knew it was going to take a bit of time to get him to settle in but as times gone on, he’s gone from being one of the more difficult horses in the yard to being one of the easiest.
“He had a lot of nervous energy, coming up to the track, on the track. He wanted to do everything quickly but now he’s settled right down. His parades at the races are much better than even at the start of the season.
“We even had a few barrier issues with him at the start and one of his earlier races this season was when he broke through the gates and Luke managed to hold on to him and he still won that race.
“The talent has always been there, we just had to manage his temperament and all of those things have fallen into place now.”
Having drawn barrier 14 in the BMW Hong Kong Derby and being forced to drop to the tail of the field, My Wish had previously excelled racing near the pace. Newnham hopes a more favourable barrier this Sunday will allow his flagship galloper to shine against elite opposition, including Voyage Bubble, Mr Brightside, Royal Patronage and Gaia Force.
“He’s only missed a place once and that was his first start at 1000 metres,” Newnham said. “He’s versatile in his races to overcome different barriers but it would be nice if he gets a good barrier for a change. He’s had 13 and 14 a couple of times – and if he’s able to get an easier run in transit, especially taking on these types of horses, that would be nice.”
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