He may not have a runner at the Longines Hong Kong International Races, but Mark Newnham will be keeping a close eye on how Ramadan fares in the Group One Hong Kong Mile.

The son of Le Havre, who was recently bought for €1.5 million (HK$12.3 million) by prominent owner Zhang Yuesheng of Yulong Investments, will remain in the city and join Newnham’s stable after he contests next weekend’s HK$36 million feature.

Bought with March’s Hong Kong Derby (2,000m) in mind, Ramadan will bolster the in-form handler’s Classic Series team, bringing with him an impressive CV from France.

“It’s very exciting,” Newnham said. “I spoke to Mr Zhang at the sales in Sydney and he told me that the horse would stay here. He’s a very nice horse to pick up.”

Ramadan collected five wins from 10 starts in France under the tutelage of Christopher Head, including three at Group level.

He arrives in Hong Kong on the back of a career-best triumph in October’s Group Two Prix Daniel Wildenstein (1,600m) on soft ground at Longchamp.

With an international rating of 116, he sits five pounds below star four-year-old Ka Ying Rising’s global ranking.

Bought at the Arqana Arc Sale immediately after his recent triumph at Longchamp, Ramadan has since joined trainer James Ferguson at Newmarket, who also prepared Group One Cox Plate (2,040m) heroine Via Sistina for the same owners before she was shipped out to join Chris Waller in Australia.

Ramadan will be thrown in the deep end on his first start in Hong Kong on December 8 and Newnham is excited to see how his new acquisition fairs against a selection of the city’s best milers.

“His form is really solid and it will be interesting to watch him work next week and then see how he lines up against the older horses,” Newnham said.

Before turning his attention to Sha Tin’s marquee meeting, the 56-year-old handler heads to Sunday’s 10-race card with a solid squad of five gallopers.

With last-start winner My Wish contesting the Class Three Salisbury Handicap (1,400m), a two-pronged attack on the Class Two Peninsula Golden Jubilee Challenge Cup (1,200m) and Talents Ambition in the Class Three Mody Handicap (1,650m), Newnham hopes to continue his strong run of form leading into a big week.

“We’ve got quite a strong team in on Sunday so hopefully we can find a winner,” Newnham said.

“My Wish is going just as well as he was before his last start. The form behind him is very strong in all the races he’s been in, so he goes there in really good shape and I think he’ll be hard to beat.”

My Wish made it two wins from three outings this term when he defied stall 14 and surged to victory under Luke Ferraris to get the better of subsequent victor, Sky Trust, on November 3.

He will have to overcome another wide berth on Sunday, with the Flying Artie gelding set to jump from barrier 13.

Newnham launches a two-pronged attack on the card’s feature, the Peninsula Golden Jubilee Challenge Cup on the dirt, with Sing Dragon searching for a fourth win on the surface and Full Credit having his first run on the all-weather track.

“There’s not much between the two really,” Nenham said. “Sing Dragon has had experience and won three in a row last season on the all-weather, but Full Credit has always trialled really well on it and I’ve sort of been waiting to give him a test on it.”

Comments