Variety Club Champion of the Mile

VARIETY CLUB CHAMPION OF THE MILE 
Just over two years ago, a chestnut colt won a Maiden Juvenile Plate worth HK$43000 over 1200 meters in front of about 500 people, on a glorious sunny day. It was his first start, and hence the victory by two lengths was quite unexpected–in fact so unexpected that neither owner nor trainer was on course and it was left to the groom to lead the colt in. Today, in front of 23,000 people as the rain came down the chestnut colt won the HK$12 million, G1 Champions Mile, cantering home by four lengths. This time his owner, his trainer, the racing manager and even his breeder were all in attendance. No, he is not called California Chrome. His name is Variety Club (Saf) (Var), and he hails from the distant shores of South Africa. 
A dual Horse of The Year back home, Variety Club set off in July 2013 on an incredible journey that lasted five months and spanned three continents. You see, that was the arduous quarantine requirements he had to go through in order to showcase his talent to the world. Five months of standing in a box, unable to train properly, is hardly the perfect regime for a keeping a racehorse fit, and an entire at that. Yet Variety Club handled it all in his stride, and earlier this year he launched his international campaign at the Dubai World Cup Carnival. 
Despite not having ever set foot on a synthetic track, Variety Club won two races, including the G2 Godolphin Mile on World Cup night. Yet his connections knew that he was an even better horse on turf, and decided to throw him into the lion’s den of Hong Kong Racing. The Hong Kong milers are renowned to be some of the best in the world. So much so that since 2005, when the G1 Champions Mile first admitted foreign entrants, local horses have dominated every running of the race. This, however, just spurred Variety Club’s connections on even more. They knew perfectly well just how good the chestnut was and were more determined than ever to prove it. 
The 2014 edition of the Champions Mile, however, boasted the most competitive field in the race’s history. Able Friend (Aus) (Shamardal), trained by Champion Hong Kong trainer John Moore, was a short priced favorite. Impressive winner of the HKG1 Hong Kong Classic Mile in January, Moore labeled his charge a potential champion, adding that it would take a superstar to beat him. It was to be the biggest challenge of Variety Club’s career, and then–just to spice things up–the computer placed him in barrier 12. 
In the end, it can only be described as a superb display of power and superiority by a superstar in the making. Variety Club cruised home on the yielding turf unchallenged, crossing the line four lengths in front of Able Friend, emphatically ending the dominance of the Hong Kong milers in their own backyard. Watching a lone horse come down the straight uncontested can often be a boring affair, but once in a while, it is a truly magical moment. A moment to savour; a moment to remember; a moment to pause and reflect, that perhaps you have just witnessed a glimpse of greatness. 
Hong Kong handicapper Nigel Grey mentioned a possible rating of 126 or even 127. Hong Kong Jockey Club CEO Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges mentioned seriously looking at ways of making it easier for South African horses to compete overseas. His connections mentioned a possible tilt at the G1 Prix de La Foret and the GI Breeders’ Cup Mile. And the chestnut colt? The star of the moment? All he wanted to do was get out of the rain, head for his warm stable and start munching a very big bunch of carrots.