Star New Zealand galloper Jimmy Choux has thrived in Victoria ahead of his departure to Hong Kong.
The multiple Group One winner and Cox Plate runner-up will be Australasia’s only representative at the Hong Kong International meeting on Sunday week when he runs in the Hong Kong Mile (1600m).
“I moved him into a lovely rural setting (in Victoria after the Emirates Stakes) and he’s been doing fantastically well,” trainer John Bary told Sydney’s Sky Sports Radio.
“He has had a paddock in the afternoon which is a huge factor for Kiwi horses. He had a nice gallop last Tuesday and he’s just thrived. He’s put a bit of weight on and is looking magnificent.”
The reigning New Zealand horse of the year, Jimmy Choux has won five Group One races including the Rosehill Guineas in Australia in March.
He was a brave second in the $3 million Cox Plate (2040m) last month before his fourth with 58kg topweight in the Group One Emirates Stakes (1600m) at Flemington on November 5.
Bary believes the five weeks between runs from the Emirates to the Hong Kong Mile would work out perfectly.
“That was the reason for running in the Emirates over the mile, albeit carrying topweight,” Bary said.
“Otherwise it would have been seven weeks (between the Cox Plate and Hong Kong Mile). It’s actually worked out perfectly with the travelling and just getting over the two hard runs in Australia. You couldn’t have asked for a better preparation.”
Bary and jockey Jonathan Riddell will link with Jimmy Choux in Hong Kong next Tuesday.
“We’ll give him a nice gallop on Wednesday, then we’ll just see from there whether we need another 600 metre (gallop) or not,” Bary said.
AAP TURF
