Newmarket trainer William Haggas has enjoyed a career-best year in 2018, his stable amassing £3-million in prize money for the first time, and he will look to clinch another Group 1 with the admirable mare One Master (GB) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) in next Saturday's G1 Hong Kong Mile.
The 4-year-old will face some stiff opposition, including the star local miler Beauty Generation (NZ) (Road To Rock {Aus}), but she is no slouch herself, having won the G1 Prix de la Foret on Oct. 7 before finishing fifth, just a length off Expert Eye (GB) (Acclamation {GB}), in the GI Breeders' Cup Mile on Nov. 3.
“I was thrilled with that run in the Breeders' Cup Mile, it was quite possibly her career best, especially as her jockey was caught down on the rail, which was not where he wanted to be,” said Haggas. “But that is all in the past. What matters is that her owners, Roy and Gretchen Jackson, who are octogenarians from Pennsylvania in the U.S., are coming to Hong Kong to see her run.
“They were at the Breeders' Cup, had a great time, and have never been to Hong Kong, so they said, 'why not, we may not get another chance.' It's a 17-hour flight–I am full of admiration for them.”
Haggas added, “One Master will probably be running on quicker ground in Hong Kong than she met at Churchill, or when she won the [G3] Fairy Bridge S. in Ireland [earlier this year]. But I don't think that will inconvenience her. I have trained generations of her family, which is a salutary reminder of how long I've been training for. Her mother, Enticing, set a course record at Bath over five furlongs on firm ground that I think still stands. It's also possible that One Master has improved as we have asked her to run over further.”
Ryan Moore has been signed on to ride One Master next weekend.
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