Queensland Derby winner Providence has been sold to Hong Kong interests and will be trained by James Cummings.
A deal was struck recently between Newgate Farm’s Henry Field and Hong Kong buyers for an undisclosed sum, with the highly rated three-year-old to be aimed at next season’s Four-Year-Old Classic Series.
Providence made himself an obvious Hong Kong target with a Group 1 breakthrough in the Queensland Derby over 2400 metres in May, leading home a quinella for trainer Chris Waller when he defeated stablemate Monopolistic by just under a length.
“What I would say is that Henry has had faith in the horse delivering on early promise for quite some time, and there are enough success stories from a small sample to show that a big performance in a race like the Queensland Derby can translate to success in Hong Kong,” Cummings told Idol Horse.
“What I loved is that he really attacked the line on his first start in a race like a good horse would, and he produced in the spring as a three-year-old some excellent performances, like in the Group 2 Vase over 2040 metres behind a horse I know a bit about in Observer, who proved to be a top-class three-year-old.
“Providence then backed it up with another big race in the Frank Packer over 2000 metres, coming from a long way back, and had that X-factor about him there. He was just really well managed to then be the horse with the turn of foot in the Queensland Derby and win that race by a length.”
Providence is expected to arrive in Hong Kong next month, and Cummings is already looking towards ‘International Day’ – the second Sunday in December – as a possible starting point.
A Class 2 mile on that card has often been used by highly-rated Private Purchases to kick off their local careers before building towards the Classic Series. Werther won the race on his local debut in 2015 after finishing second in the Queensland Derby earlier that year, while Eagle Way followed the same path 12 months later after winning the Queensland Derby.
“He’s going to be rated in the mid-80s. I had a sit down with the owners on the weekend and we talked a little about how we might picture his preparation, how we might picture it looking, and I did actually mention that exact race,” Cummings said.
“We’ll get him early, he’ll be arriving next month, but we’ll be in no rush with him. I have my eye on that timeline, if it’s going to suit the horse, and that gives us plenty of time, but I love that his rating is sufficient to be a bit relaxed about this Classic Series campaign.”
Queensland’s Hong Kong Connection
Providence is the latest Queensland Derby graduate bound for Hong Kong, as buyers again turn to the race in search of a horse capable of winning the city’s most sought-after prize.
The standout remains Werther, who was runner-up in the 2015 Queensland Derby before joining John Moore’s stable. He quickly became one of Hong Kong’s best horses, winning the 2016 Hong Kong Derby, adding three more Group 1 victories and was crowned Horse of the Year for the 2015-16 season.
The race’s next three winners also ended up in Hong Kong.
Eagle Way was a different case. He had already been sourced through John and George Moore before winning the 2016 Queensland Derby, only staying in Australia after an intended owner’s Hong Kong racing permit fell through. He later joined Moore’s stable in Hong Kong and won three local Group races.
Ruthven, the 2017 Queensland Derby winner, also joined Moore but was unable to make the same impression, winning only once from 18 starts. Dark Dream, the 2018 winner, had a more productive career, finishing fourth in the Hong Kong Derby and placing third at Group 1 level for trainer Frankie Lor.
That 2018 Queensland Derby was one of the busiest for Asian trade. Seven runners from the race were later sent to the region, including Ozzy Star who went on to win the Singapore Derby (when raced under the name Sun Marshal). But California Turbo and Won Won Too, who finished among the last two home at Eagle Farm, failed to win after arriving in Hong Kong, while Banner Season never made it to the track in Singapore.
The flow eased after that, however, with Mr Quickie, the 2019 Queensland Derby winner, remaining in Australia, while Home Made was the only runner from that year’s race to later head to Hong Kong where he failed to place.
Kukeracha also stayed in Australia after winning the 2021 edition, but several horses behind him were later sold to Hong Kong.
Runner-up Senor Toba finished fourth behind Romantic Warrior in the 2022 Hong Kong Derby and later won at Group 3 level. Flying Turbo and King Tourbillon struggled, going unplaced from a combined 18 starts, while Intrepid Winner won twice at Happy Valley.
Last year’s Queensland Derby runner-up King Of Thunder, now known as Numbers, has quickly become one of the more promising graduates to land in Hong Kong.
Now trained by Lor, he won the G3 Centenary Vase at his third local start, finished fourth in the Hong Kong Classic Cup and was runner-up to Invincible Ibis in the Hong Kong Derby before rounding out his season with a second to Romantic Warrior in the G1 Champions & Chater Cup. ∎
