Group 1 Galaxy Winner Atomic Force ventured down the freeway from Newcastle to Rosehill for the trials this morning, having his final hit out before hearing if he secured an invitation to represent Australia at the Hong Kong International Race day on December 11.
Announcements of the selected candidates is at 6:00pm HK Time Wednesday 23 November. Should Atomic Force be included fe would fly up to HK on Sunday 27/11.
Atomic Force was in heat 7 this morning and ridden by leading jockey Nash Rawiller and Nash was delighted by the horse's efforts. Nash commented upon returning to the stalls that he (Atomic Force) felt "terrific" and "he had not gone backwards at all". He said "he is strong and going great". Nash was keen to ride Atomic Force in NZ in the Railway Stakes Gr1 if the HK trip doesn't come off.
He felt super under saddle and if asked, could have easily gone on to win the trial by a long way. It took Nash a furlong to pull Atomic Force up such was the horse's keenness to work.
Rawiller never allowed the Darren Smith trained galloper to come off the bit and held the horse together under a stranglehold throughout the run to win untouched by an unextended 3/4 of a length in an ultra impressive display.
The horse jumped brilliantly and was able to lead throughout the trial. It was always our intention to give him a soft trial and just keep him ticking over.
Should he miss out in obtaining the HK invite, there are several options available to the connections. These include the Gr1 Railway Stakes in NZ on New Years Day.
A nomination was also put in this morning for the 1100m Welter at Canterbury on Saturday as a possibility. However the next 24 hours will determine a lot and make decision making easier.