A brother to a multiple Group 1 winner in the UK is set for his first run in Australia
A horse with one of the most fascinating backstories in Saturday’s Flemington meeting will make his Australian debut when Unbelievable steps out for trainer Clayton Douglas.
The internationally travelled galloper lines up in the Melbourne Cup Carnival On Sale (1620m) after a career that has taken him from Ireland to Hong Kong and now Australia.
Bred in the United States, Unbelievable is a brother to champion colt City Of Troy, winner of the Epsom Derby, Coral Eclipse Stakes and Juddmonte International Stakes during a brilliant 2024 campaign.
Racing as Bertinelli early in his career, Unbelievable began with legendary Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien, winning at Dundalk at his second start before adding another victory over 2000 metres at Newbury as a three-year-old.
Following one more appearance in the UK, he was sold to Hong Kong interests and transferred to trainer Frankie Lor.
After six starts in Hong Kong for two placings, the gelding was retired from racing there and shipped to Australia, initially joining the Anthony and Sam Freedman stable.
With the Freedmans serving a 28-day disqualification, Unbelievable was temporarily transferred into the care of Douglas and will race in his name on Saturday.
The Freedmans returned to training earlier this week, with Jourama set to be their first official runner back under their own name at Bairnsdale on Tuesday.
Douglas believes Unbelievable has shown enough at the trials to suggest he can develop into a handy staying prospect.
“He started in Ireland, ended up in Hong Kong, was retired from Hong Kong and sent down here,” Douglas said.
“He’s still a ‘bull’ and will probably benefit from the run at the mile on Saturday after a long time off, but he’s quite a nice horse.
“His trials have been good and at Caulfield Heath the other day, I thought he did a good job as he was out to do a little bit, and he hit the line strongly.
“First-up at the mile, in a benchmark 84, he carries a bit of weight, and he will be somewhere off the speed, but he’ll be running on and then hopefully there will be a race for him over 2000 metres second-up.”
Ethan Brown, fresh from a successful riding stint in Hong Kong, will partner Unbelievable after returning to race riding in Victoria at Geelong on Friday.
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