It has been more than two decades since New Zealand trainer Gary Hennessy first travelled a horse to Sydney.
So bad was his experience he hasn’t been back since.
“It was a total disaster really,” Hennessy said.
“The plane got delayed for two days getting over here, we got the visitor’s draw and he got galloped on badly.”
The horse, Llanmersa, finished 13th to Bold Rancher in the 1991 Frank Packer Plate.
Hennessy will break his 21-year Sydney drought on Saturday when he runs the highly-rated Ocean Park in the Group One Randwick Guineas (1600m).
His second foray into Sydney has been smoother already with Ocean Park arriving safely in Sydney on Monday night.
There is no visitor’s draw this time either, but a much kinder marble in gate two.
The colt’s presence will add another dimension to an already intriguing Randwick Guineas which features the first clash between top Sydneysider Manawanui and star Victorian filly Mosheen.
However, the Randwick feature wasn’t always on Ocean Park’s agenda.
The colt was scratched from the New Zealand Derby last Saturday week due to the rain-affected track, prompting Hennessy to make his trip earlier than planned.
“He was no chance (in the NZ Derby) on wet ground so we’ve just changed course,” Hennessy said.
“It was our intention to come to Sydney anyway for the Rosehill Guineas so we’ve just come here a race earlier.”
Ocean Park has not started since his second to subsequent NZ Derby winner Silent Achiever in the Waikato Guineas (2000m) on February 4 but he did tune up for the Guineas with a barrier trial last week.
While he has been given time to find his feet at his past three runs in New Zealand, Hennessy says the colt can be ridden more positively, although tactics will be left to jockey Craig Williams.
“He won a 1200-metre barrier trial last Thursday and did that pretty easily so I think that will have sharpened him up,” Hennessy said.
“He led for the first 200 metres of his 1200-metre trial so he’s not one-dimensional at all.
“I’ll leave that up to Craig.”
Ocean Park will have just two runs in Sydney this autumn with the Group One Rosehill Guineas (2000m) two weeks from Saturday the only other race on his agenda.
Another Kiwi, Jimmy Choux, won the Rosehill feature last year.
“I hope we can carry on in the same vein,” Hennessy said.
Longer-term, Hennessy is looking towards the Melbourne spring carnival with Ocean Park, ahead of a Hong Kong campaign.
Two of his owners are Hong Kong-based and the colt was purchased as a Hong Kong Derby prospect.
But for now, Hennessy’s sights are firmly on the Sydney assignments.
“He’s a lovely young horse to have anything to do with and quite exciting too,” he said.
