#able friend

[silly-fox-in-sox]

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The grand Hong Kong champion, Able Friend was honored with a retirement ceremony at Sha Tin this weekend

Able Friend has been a beloved part of the Hong Kong racing scene since 2013, when the then 4yr old gelding traveled west from his native Australia. 

He turned into a brilliant miler, winning the: Hong Kong Classic Mile (2014), Chairman's Trophy (2014, 2015), Jockey Club Mile (2014), Hong Kong Mile (2014), Hong Kong Stewards' Cup (2015), Queen's Silver Jubilee Cup (2015), Champions Mile (2015) & Premier Bowl (2015)

in 2015 – after his best season on the track – Able Friend was the Hong Kong Horse of the Year, Hong Kong Most Popular Horse of the Year & the Hong Kong Champion Miler. 

His 2016 season was plagued with soundness issues and he went winless. 

Able Friend will spend retirement back at Turangga Farm in New South Wales, Australia, where he was foaled.

[racinglegends]

”He is done for the season, he is out ... it's very disappointing to have one of the top five horses in the world and to have him sidelined.” - Trainer John Moore

Moore requests that his superstar miler from Hong Kong, Able Friend, will be sent to his native Australia “for a long period of rest and rehabilitation” after he suffered a rare tendon injury. He, clearly hampered by mild lameness, finished third in the Hong Kong Mile at Sha Tin last month, and after being pulled up sore after trackwork on 4 January 2016, MRI scans revealed a strained deep digital flexor tendon in the same foot.

Moore said: “I'll be asking the owner (Dr Cornel Li Fook-kwan) if we can send him offshore and find the best place to rehab him ... I hope the (Jockey) club and Dr Li allow us to send him back to Australia. That’s the best place for him, I believe ... Nothing has been arranged yet, he was only scanned on Monday and we had to send the scans off to some experts in Europe to have a very close look at things and to see if he concurred with our findings here, and he did.” Read more here.

Speedy recovery, sweet boy.

Photo: @mjyharris Able Friend at the Royal Ascot meeting, June 2015

[racinglegends]

Able Friend’s last workout at Newmarket before Royal Ascot, 12 June 2015.

Photos: Liesl King

[ukhorseracingtipster]

Royal Ascot attracts largest global challenge in meeting’s history

Royal Ascot attracts largest global challenge in meeting’s history

• Kentucky Derby winner California Chrome among runners • Owner admits horse faces tough task in Prince Of Wales’s Stakes

Next week’s Royal meeting at Ascot will draw the most extensive cast-list of racehorses from around the world in the event’s 208-year history, with 20 contenders from outside Europe expected to go to post at the course over the five days of racing which begin on Tuesday.

The…

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[racinglegends]

A few of the international raiders at Newmarket this morning, 11 June 2015, ahead of next week’s Royal Ascot meeting: Hong Kong’s Able Friend, America’s California Chrome and Australia’s Brazen Beau.

Photos: Racing Post

[racinglegends]

“Hong Kong: Able Friend on his way: Leading Queen Anne contender Able Friend has departed from Sha Tin and is now en route to Britain for Royal Ascot (Saturday morning, 6 June 2015).”

Have a lovely trip, my boy. <3

Photo source: X

[thehorsegodbuilt]

Meet Able Friend, equal highest-rated racehorse in the world, highest ever rated in #hongkong by Robin Fall