Melbourne the aim for HK-based Beheshtam
James Reed
02-Mar-2010 |
Beheshtam, so highly regarded in France last year that he was ante-post favourite for the Arc at one stage, is ready to embark on a new career in Hong Kong with trainer John Moore.
An assault on the on the 2010 Caulfield and Melbourne Cups is on the cards for Beheshtam, who has been renamed Carthage.
Beheshtam, fourth in last year's Prix du Jockey Club and runner-up in the Prix Niel, was acquired from the Aga Khan and Alain de Royer-Dupre not long after he finished midfield in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe by Moore's Trainer Syndicate.
The same team acquired Collection, also a son of Peintre Celebre, to win the Hong Kong Derby last year and, last weekend, put down a marker for Dubai with victory in the Hong Kong Gold Cup.
However, Carthage may not be reaching the same heights so soon. On Tuesday he failed his second barrier trial in less than two weeks and does not appear to have acclimatised to his new regime just yet.
But perhaps this is not a major problem given that his primary objective will be in Australia in October and November.
"We hope to give him two or three runs in Hong Kong before the end of the season and then ship him to Melbourne for the Spring Carnival," Moore said.
A son of the legendary Australian jockey and trainer George, Moore has long held an ambition to win a major prize in his homeland and has sent down horses from Hong Kong in the past only to come up short.
"The idea is that he will fly down in August and my son George will supervise the training," he said.
"The Caulfield and Melbourne Cups are the two main targets but we will find a couple of lead-up races over shorter distances to bring him along beforehand.
"His form behind Cavalryman when he was beaten just half a length in the Prix Niel speaks for itself. It's important for the yard to attract a horse of this calibre and we are very much looking forward to the journey ahead." |
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