By Daithi Harvey
Having conquered the GI Breeders' Cup Turf at Del Mar with Talismanic (GB) (Medaglia d'Oro) Andre Fabre has another international objective in mind for Godolphin's flashy homebred colt. “Hong Kong is a good option for him, but we need to see how he is when he comes home,” said Fabre, who is eyeing the G1 Hong Kong Vase at Sha Tin Dec. 10. “I will discuss it with his owners Godolphin, but he's still unexposed.” Talismanic caused somewhat of a surprise when beating Beach Patrol (Lemon Drop Kid) and Highland Reel (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the Breeders' Cup Turf but his trainer never targets major overseas races on a whim and he was expecting a prominent display at Del Mar. “I thought he would be suited to the way the races in America are run. The French style of racing does not suit him, he prefers a faster pace and then he can finish strongly. At Saint-Cloud when he won his Group Two, he got the strong pace and that was his best performance. He had a good draw at Del Mar, Mikael [Barzalona] gave him a great ride and everything went well.” Fabre had also nominated G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe runner up Cloth Of Stars (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) for Hong Kong but will not be taking up that option. “Cloth Of Stars has been nominated for Hong Kong too, but he probably won't go and we'll wait for Dubai instead,” he added.
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