Yu Long Investments now has a decision to make after Private Harry’s dismal performance in The Shorts – stick or pick Angel Capital?
The connections of Private Harry were confident of a bold performance from their star colt, but it seems the bubble has burst with the son of Harry Angel fading to finish 4.51L from Joliestar in The Shorts.
There’s a case to make that the bubble should never have been blown with very little form in the top grade and zero starts in Weight For Age grade.
The hype was built around what looked like a strong Galaxy win, where he defeated Briasa, but when you look into the race in detail, you will see that Briasa had to give away an impossible start from gate 13 on a strong leader bias track at Rosehill and flew home late to run fourth.
The Galaxy form has since been weak, and given that Private Harry carried just 53kg on a leader bias track and was only 0.79L in front of Front Page, he will not find an easier G1 race and will need to find several lengths to be competitive in The Everest.
So what should Yulong Investments do?
There is no doubt that Private Harry is talented and is capable of winning more stakes races, but the Sydney Stakes looks a better option for him, given that they now own a share of the colt.
A win in the Sydney Stakes would keep his stud value trending up, and it is sure to be a much easier race than The Everest due to a lack of depth in the sprinting ranks at the moment.
That brings us to Angel Capital, who was extremely unlucky from a terrible draw in the Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes at Caulfield today.
The Chris Waller-trained mare had to settle back from the wide gate, then had no luck on the corner before catching the eye when finishing 4th.
The daughter of Harry Angel is well-bred and is owned by Yu Long Investments, so they will not have to share any of the prize money should they decide to run her in Private Harry’s place.
She has also won twice at 1200m and is a winner on good and soft, which is a good box to tick.
Her win in the Chautauqua Stakes was electric, and she will benefit from the strong speed in The Everest.
It’s tough to see anyone beating Ka Ying Rising, so maybe this is a case of Yulong Investments maximising their prize money return.
