International partnership roaring ahead

Roaring Bebe (NZ) (Per Incanto) is the latest success story for Ben Foote in his ongoing association with Hong Kong trainer David Hall.

The son of Per Incanto will attempt to complete a hat-trick of wins when he heads south from his Cambridge base for the HGT Bloodstock Handicap (1400m) at Trentham on Saturday.

“I’ve always had the horses David buys here, I educate, pre-train and trial them before they go over,” said Foote, who trains in partnership with son Ryan.

“The trial and race winners he buys also come here until they’re ready to send over and he’s sent a few back to us, Keegan (four wins) was one of them.

“This horse had a hock injury (in Hong Kong) and he took him a long time to get over it. David sent him back to us and said he can gallop, so definitely try him.”

Hall’s advice has proved on the money with Roaring Bebe finishing runner-up at Ellerslie in his first start before reeling off victories at Te Rapa and New Plymouth ahead of his Trentham assignment.

“His work’s been very good and we were planning to go for a mile the week after, it was Ryan’s idea to go 1400m again,” Foote said.

“He’s a really good looking Per Incanto who had a few quirks when he first came here, he had a mind of his own, but he’s quite a neat horse now he’s in the right head space.”

Foote credited the turnaround to his wife Kim’s care and attention of the six-year-old.

“She owns him and put (son) Ryan and his partner Lily Chan in the horse with Lola Rogers, Kim’s sister, and Ken Garnett.

“Ken is a good mate of mine and has raced a few horses, including Taika who won the Great New Zealand Hurdle.

“We were having a couple of beers and he said he wanted another share in a horse, so I said go and see Kim, he goes pretty well.”

Roaring Bebe was originally offered by Lilywhites Lodge at New Zealand Bloodstock’s Ready to Run Sale where he was purchased for $35,000 by Jenna Mahoney under her Cypress Point Farms banner.

The Byerley Park trainer produced him to win a two-year-old trial at Cambridge before his subsequent relocation to Hong Kong where his best performance was a runner-up finish at Happy Valley.

Meanwhile, Foote has high hopes in the spring for the speedy Azeezle (Exceed And Excel) who also made a fast start to his New Zealand career.

The son of Exceed And Excel was a two-time Victorian winner for Anthony and Sam Freedman before he was one of a group of horses that thoroughbred giant Yulong transferred to Cambridge.

His two appearances last November resulted in Azeezle finishing second in the Listed Pegasus Stakes (1000m) at Riccarton behind Platinum Attack (Santos) before he reversed that result in the Levin Stakes (1200m) at Otaki before a break for surgery.

“He had to get an entrapment done again, so we’ll just get him ready for the spring,” Foote said.

“He had one done before I got him and we scoped him after that race he won, it was entrapped again so he did pretty well.

“He didn’t have to be out long after the surgery, but it wiped everything out and that wasn’t anything else to bring him back for.

“He’s super fast, and I think he’ll be up to the Group One sprinters in the spring.”