Swettenham double in VOBIS Gold Star

Swettenham Stud owner Adam Sangster had all the bases loaded when Hong Kong Captain claimed the $150,000 VOBIS Gold Star (1500m) at Moonee Valley on Saturday.

Sangster bred and sold Trust In A Gust to win the 2014 VOBIS Gold Star on the way to Group 1 victories in last year’s Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes and Toorak Hcp.

Hong Kong Captain is another Swettenham graduate with a future in Group 1 company. He completed a double for Swettenham sire Host (Chi) at Moonee Valley following a smart win by his youngster sister Marli Magic.

What’s more, Sangster has catalogued their yearling half-sister by Equiano as Lot 770 at the Melbourne Premier next month.

Hong Kong Captain (3g Host – Unlimited Passage by Giant’s Causeway) is trained by David Hayes and Tom Dabernig at Lindsay Park Euroa. “VOBIS Gold is a fantastic incentive and we’ve got a lot of time for this horse,” Dabernig said. “We’ve always thought that he’s a bit better than city class and will get out to 2000 metres.

“We would really like to have a runner in the C S Hayes Stakes next month. It would mean bringing him back to 1400m but we’ve got a bit of time between runs.”

The stable is also planning Group 1 starts in the Australian Guineas (1600m) at Flemington and Rosehill Guineas (2000m) in March.

Jockey Michael Walker has a very high opinion of Hong Kong Captain. “He’s a very, very talented horse and whatever he does now is a bonus for his next preparation. Physically he’s got it but mentally he’s still not there yet.”