OTI Racing’s Sea King (GB) finished sixth in the Ebor Handicap at York, narrowly in front of the impressive Geelong Cup winner Onesmoothoperator (USA), which proved the right form in Wednesday’s $500,000 Group III Apiam Bendigo Cup (2400m).
Ridden by Declan Bates and making his first start for Harry Eustace after being trained in England by Sir Mark Prescott, the 6-year-old son of Sea The Stars (IRE) trucked into the race four wide on the home turn before putting three and three-quarters lengths on Berkeley Square (Territories), with a head back to Star Vega (Lope De Vega) in third.
Harry Eustice said it was the last chance saloon to earn a spot in the Melbourne Cup.
“It’s incredibly exciting. A lot was riding on it, it’s the last win-and-you’re-in for the Cup, so it’s an absolute dream result today,” Eustice said.
“I’d just like to thank Terry (Henderson) in particular. He bought this horse just before Docklands travelled down, and it’s proving to be a pretty inspired purchase.
“It was just a beautiful ride from Dec Bates. We picked him because, hopefully, he’d understand the European style and it wouldn’t be a sit-and-sprint. He just gave him a great ride and rode him full of coincidence.
“Curiously, coming down, we never even thought we’d get close and, of course, since we’ve been here the Cup, as everyone is well aware, has really started cutting up, so the closer we got to getting in the more pressure there was I suppose.”
“I think it’s about eight weeks now, but for Harry to get a horse off Mark Prescott and really get the horse to settle. We set up here as a galloping partner for Docklands, but he’s just thrived at Werribee.
“The stats of his record during trackwork have been great, and it’s a great credit to Harry and his team for presenting him like this today.”
“I think we probably got more confidence out of the fact that he was working with a Group 1 horse and it was terrific to see what the other horse (Docklands) did the other day (in the Cox Plate), but that Ebor form is always good form.
“It was never the intention to have him here for the Cup, to be honest, but the way he’d trained on and the attrition rate for the Cup has now given him a chance if the handicapper gives him half-a-kilo.”
Declan Bates said he doubts that Sea King (GB) would be penalised enough for him to make the weight in the Melbourne Cup.
“It would want to be a pretty big penalty for me, but best of luck to them, and I think he’ll be running a massive race,” Bates said.
“We were hoping to be forward in the run, but he lacked that bit of tactical early speed, so I had to just work on getting him to settle.
“From then on, he travelled very strongly in the run, and any time the tempo came out of it, he just wanted to get going.
“I tried to nurse him as long as I could, but from about the 1000m I just tried to slowly build into it, but he’s just probably got that bit of class compared o a lot of these.
“We got the front a lot earlier than I would have liked, but I think I was just on the superior stayer.
“You can’t overstate it (the training performance of Harry Eustice). It’s hard enough to come all the way down here with a horse you probably know really well, but for him to get a horse that is only new to his care and bring it down (is amazing).
“I told him in the mounting yard beforehand that he looked a million dollars and raced accordingly.”
The son of Sea The Stars has an impressive record at the distance with five wins, a second, and a third from nine starts, with an overall record of six wins, a second, and two thirds from 19 starts with earnings of $465,917.
An 87,000 gns purchase for Barry Lynch / Heath House from the Highclere Stud draft in Book 1 of the 2020 Tattersalls October Yearling Sale, Sea King (GB), is the best of three winners from four to race for the stakes-winning Duke Of Marmalade mare Pamona, a half-sister to Listed winner Prianca (Diktat) and stakes-placed Kitty Hawk (Danehill Dancer).
Sea King (GB) is the 136th stakes-winner for Gilltown Stud’s Sea The Stars.
