Hong Kong-based owner Sean Wee Gan, who recorded a Group race breakthrough with Inquisitively (GB) (Ten Sovereigns {Ire}) at Newmarket this month, has revealed that the classy 2-year-old will not race again in Europe and will continue his career in Hong Kong.
Wee Gan purchased Rascal Recknell (Fr) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) for 215,000gns through Inquisitively's trainer Kevin Philippart de Foy and bloodstock agent Sam Wright at the Tattersalls Autumn Horses-In-Training Sale off the back of that success.
Wright, who bought the G3 Cornwallis S. winner Inquisitively on behalf of the owner after the colt finished third for trainer Ollie Sangster in the Windsor Castle S. at Royal Ascot, says there is an opening for more Asian owners to buy and race younger horses in Europe before shipping them to Hong Kong.
Wright said, “This experience could open the doors for more Asian-based owners to run horses in Ireland and the UK, particularly as two-year-olds, before bringing them over to Hong Kong. “We could see more people doing that in the future. I do think that there's good value, particularly in Ireland and the UK.”
Reflecting on the Cornwallis win, he continued, “This is the first horse I have bought Sean. I was introduced to Sean when I visited Hong Kong and it was decided after I found this horse at Royal Ascot that, once he was purchased, he would be transferred to Kevin Philippart De Foy.
“I worked with Kevin at Christophe Clement's in 2015 and 2016. Once that decision was made, we basically left it up to Kevin to decide if we'd race him or just keep him ticking over. Kevin put some good works into Inquisitively and said that he could go on to be quite competitive in black-type races.
“As we saw, he went straight for a listed when the horse was still a maiden but he delivered. After York, the weather took a change and it was hard to find nice ground but we took a chance and ran him at Newmarket and I'm glad it all paid off.”
Inquisitively is not the first horse that Wee Gan has sourced from Europe. One of his first horses, Carbon Fibre (Ire) (Helmet {Aus}), whose name was changed to First Responder when he arrived in Hong Kong, was bought out of Michael O'Callaghan's yard after he finished second to Ten Sovereigns in a Curragh maiden.
That was a contributing factor in Wee Gan's interests being piqued with Inquisitively as he had been following the progress of Ten Sovereigns ever since the multiple Group 1 winner made that scintillating debut.
Wee Gan said, “We were very lucky that Sam found us a good horse. After I saw Inquisitively finish third at Ascot, I became very interested because, at the same time, I had been tracking the progeny of Ten Sovereigns.
“My first horse in Hong Kong raced under the name First Responder. Before that, when he was trained in Ireland, he was named Carbon Fibre and finished second to Ten Sovereigns at the Curragh. Not to mention that the sire of Ten Sovereigns is by No Nay Never, who is very popular in Hong Kong.”
On future plans for Inquisitively, he added, “This horse is destined for Hong Kong. I kept him in Britain because he is such a young horse, he's only a two-year-old and, in Hong Kong, we don't have two-year-old races.
“I have learned from my experience. I had a horse last year from Ireland and he came here as a two-year-old. The trainer was keeping him on ice as he couldn't race against older horses. That's why I kept Inquisitively in the UK, because he can have a few races before he comes to Hong Kong. We were lucky that he won the listed at York and then the Group 3 at Newmarket.”
In many ways, Rascal Recknell boasts a similar profile to Inquisitively being an unexposed two-year-old. He will eventually be shipped to Hong Kong with Wee Gan explaining how he is on the search for more equine talent.
He said, “I told Sam to try and get me another one like Inquisitively. This horse is owned by a syndication but the next ones I might own myself.
“I have two horses of my own in Hong Kong. They are all called Coulourful something. We had a runner last week called Colourful Prince (NZ) and we also have Colourful Emperor (Ire).
“Then I have horses with a syndicate. We are all St John Ambulance members. The first horse, who we have now retired, was called First Responder. When Inquisitively comes to Hong Kong, he will be called Fast Responder.”
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