David Hall may have endured a long and testing wait between Group One winners but Invincible Sage ensured the trainer’s elite-level breakthrough “was a pretty easy watch” with a comprehensive victory in Sunday’s Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1,200m) at Sha Tin.
Stepping out at the top level for the first time, Invincible Sage relished the yielding ground to become Hall’s first Group One victor since Absolute Champion, who won the Chairman’s Sprint Prize in 2007 to go with his win in the 2006 Hong Kong Sprint (1,200m).
“It’s been a long time between drinks, of course. As everybody says, this is what you get out of bed for in the mornings. It’s been a bit of a drought for us at the top level so this is certainly a very satisfying win,” said Hall, who won the 2003 Melbourne Cup with Makybe Diva.
Sent off a $6.9 fourth elect on the back of his last-start second behind Lucky Sweynesse in the Group Two Sprint Cup (1,200m) and a trio of soft-track wins in Australia, Invincible Sage settled in the box seat under Hugh Bowman as Victor The Winner, California Spangle and Japanese raider Mad Cool jostled for the lead.
After a first 800m a whisker inside standard despite the conditions, Bowman eased four-year-old Invincible Sage off the rail in the straight and allowed him to coast past California Spangle inside the 200m.
“It was a pretty easy watch, actually – the grey horse from Japan [Mad Cool] putting a bit of pressure on the leaders and Hughy sitting there in his normal cool fashion,” Hall said.
“There’s no question he revels in the ground. He’s not a big horse, he strides very efficiently in it and he’s proven in Australia that he can handle it.
“It’s great to see the horse progress and it’ll be interesting going forward whether he can do the same on a firm track. It’s hard to tell how much the conditions made him go to this level because he’s just been the type of horse who’s progressed.
“Every time we’ve asked him to do a little bit more he has and he’s got to the stage now where he’s a little bit stronger than he was last year. Let’s hope he can go on with it.
“I’m sitting on the fence as to whether it was just the track or whether he can do it on the firm ground.”
Bowman landed his second Group One since making a permanent move to Hong Kong in November 2022, adding to his success aboard Russian Emperor in last year’s Group One Champions & Chater Cup (2,400m).
“He is up to top class now. I think a rain-affected track may have assisted his performance but even on a dry track I think we would have seen a winning performance today,” Bowman said after winning aboard Invincible Sage for the third time.
“I am so proud of him and he has just settled in beautifully since arriving in Hong Kong. I had a bit of success with him last year and I have enjoyed watching him progress through the grades.
“Since [my wife] Christine and I and the kids arrived midway through last season, [Hall] has been a stellar support the entire time. It means a great deal to ride this winner for David and the entire team.”
California Spangle hung on for second, a length and a half off the winner, in his bid for a Group One hat-trick, while Pierre Ng Pang-chi’s Mugen ran a slashing third in his elite-level debut.
Hall’s Flying Ace finished fourth, while raiders Believing, Sunrise Ronaldo and Mad Cool were the last three across the line.
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