Newmarket-based Jane Chapple-Hyam is teaming up with fellow Australian Michelle Payne in recent Italian recruit Kaspersky (Ire) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}), who has been bought with the Melbourne Cup Carnival in mind.
Winner of the G2 Premio Carlo Vittadini in Milan and G2 Aengevelt Meilen Trophy in Germany, the 6-year-old was previously trained by Endo Botti and has recently arrived at Chapple-Hyam's yard at Abington Place.
The trainer is aiming for the G1 Queen Anne S. at Royal Ascot before heading to her home city of Melbourne for the G1 Emirates S. at Flemington in November. Chapple-Hyam hopes that Payne will be available to partner the horse at Royal Ascot, though she is unlikely to be able to be in the UK for his intended start in the Paradise S. at the same course in May.
She said, “I've been friends with Michelle Payne for about eight years now and when we caught up at the Australian Open tennis, I was looking for a Melbourne Cup horse. It is so expensive to buy a Cup horse now, though, so I called Michelle and said, 'How about an Emirates Stakes horse instead?'”
She added, “Gay Kelleway was actually buying horses in Italy and she saw this one and while he was out of her budget, she flipped him on to me. He's been bought by Ernest Clarke and his wife Ronda, who are fairly new to UK racing, and will run in both their names.
“He arrived with us on Saturday and the plan is to run him in the Queen Anne at Royal Ascot with Michelle coming over to ride him. We know he will be a 50-1 shot, but he should give Ernest and Ronda a great thrill. He's been third in a Group 1 and won a couple of Group 2s so he has some nice form in the book.”
Chapple-Hyam previously sent Mull Of Killough (Ire) (Mull Of Kintyre) to run in Australia, with the Group 3-winning half-brother to Excelebation (Ire) finishing third in the Emirates S. of 2013.
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