Invincible Ibis soars on Sha Tin return
Hong Kong Derby hero Invincible Ibis made the perfect start to his new campaign at Sha Tin on Sunday, with the NZB Ready to Run Sale graduate producing an impressive first-up victory in the HK$4.2 million Gr.3 Celebration Cup Handicap (1400m).
The Mark Newnham-trained gelding defied expectations over the shorter distance, carrying 127lb to defeat Galaxy Patch by a neck, with fellow four-year-old series star Stormy Grove the same margin away in third.
The victory saw Invincible Ibis emulate fellow New Zealand-sourced Hong Kong champions Golden Sixty and Ambitious Dragon, who also returned from their respective Hong Kong Derby triumphs to win the Celebration Cup.
Ridden by Luke Ferraris in the absence of injured regular rider Hugh Bowman, Invincible Ibis settled comfortably in midfield before being angled into the clear approaching the home turn.
The son of Hellbent quickly gathered momentum, swept up to Hong Kong Classic Mile winner Little Paradise and hit the front before showing his trademark determination to withstand the late charge of Galaxy Patch.
Newnham admitted the first-up victory had exceeded his expectations, with bigger targets later in the year firmly in mind.
“Truthfully, a little unexpected,” Newnham said. “I thought at 1400m, carrying a little more condition with bigger goals ahead, if he ran a good third or fourth, I'd be satisfied. But with a win like that, I'm pretty happy.
“Luke just said to me 'he was probably on empty that last 50m', but we know he's very tenacious.
“When he had such a good run through the race, I'm sure that helped because if he had to do any work, he was probably underdone for that, but Luke gave him a perfect ride.”
Invincible Ibis will now progress through the traditional lead-up races in October and November, with Newnham planning to nominate him for both the HK$36 million Gr.1 Hong Kong Mile (1600m) and HK$40 million Gr.1 Hong Kong Cup (2000m) on December 13.
“At the moment I'm thinking of keeping him to a mile,” Newnham said.
“I think a horse that's lightly raced like him, going to 2000m against all ages at Group 1 level is a fair ask, but the horse will tell me where he's at.”
Ferraris was reunited with Invincible Ibis for the first time since September last year and was impressed by the progression the gelding had made.
“Obviously, I started out on him when he first started racing and it’s night and day compared to what he is now to what he’s furnished into,” Ferraris said.
“Full credit to Mark and his team to getting him to where he is now. It’s a great start to his campaign this season.”
Invincible Ibis has now won six of his 12 starts, headed by his record-breaking victory in last season's BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m).
Invincible Ibis was sold by Kilgravin Lodge at the 2023 NZB Ready to Run Sale for NZ$425,000 to Newnham and is raced by the Ibis Syndicate.
