Trainer Les Bridge will be reunited with star sprinter Classique Legend when he makes his return to Australian racing.
Les Bridge trained the star gelding throughout his Australian career which culminated in his win in the rich The Everest before the horse made the trip to Hong Kong to continue racing for trainer Caspar Fownes.
A below part performance in the Hong Kong Sprint and a three month ban for bleeding however has seen owner Bon Ho make the decision to return the horse back to Australia to race where he will do so out of Bridge’s stables.
“They are trying to get him back here as quick as they can, but it’s very complex, the regulations in that part of the world,” Bridge said.
“It looks like he will have to go and quarantine in New Zealand for a couple of weeks. He is going to go from the hot weather to the cold, so that’s not good.
“I think I will have time to have him ready for The Everest, knowing the horse. He is fit, he’s had a couple of barrier trials up there.
“It’s not as though he hasn’t done anything. But a lot will depend on how he handles the travel and what he’s like when he gets back here.
“But I’m hopeful of getting him ready for The Everest.”
The initial target for Classique Legend is another Everest although no other races or plans have been mapped out for the horse at this time but it is likely he will replicate his successful lead-up preparation of The Shorts and the Premiere Stakes before The Everest.
