Trainer David Eustace rues injury blow to Hong Kong Cup hope Massive Sovereign

Trainer David Eustace will have to wit for his first Hong Kong International Races runner after ruling out Massive Sovereign from the Hong Kong Cup.

Second-year Hong Kong trainer David Eustace has lamented an untimely setback to Massive Sovereign, ruled out of the Group 1 Hong Kong Cup on Sunday at Sha Tin with a foreleg injury.

Eustace was prepared to saddle a milestone first Hong Kong International Races runner, with Massive Sovereign in the Asian racing jurisdiction’s richest and most prestigious 2000m weight-for-age major up against three-time champion Romantic Warrior.

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“Unfortunately he’s not quite right, which is a shame,” Eustace said.

“We were really looking forward to running him actually, as much as it was going to be a very tough race.

“He was going to go into it in good form and we’ve got a good handle on him but unfortunately he’s quite a fragile horse, so he’s not quite right.

“We’ll see what the recovery looks like for him … he’s fine but he’s got an issue, we’ll have to dig a bit deeper as to how long (recovery) it will be.”

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Despite the ominous challenge, Eustace expected Massive Sovereign to outrun his own market expectations.

“I thought he’d probably, albeit be a big price, (run well),” Eustace said.

“I viewed him as a horse that might run better than his odds.”

Eustace, who won a Melbourne Cup and Cox Plate in partnership with Ciaron Maher before the move to Hong Kong, has runners on Sunday’s undercard, including Mister Dapper in a 1800m Class 3.

Originally published as Trainer David Eustace rues injury blow to Hong Kong Cup hope Massive Sovereign