Hear the full interview
From 29:28 in Thursday’s episode of Nick Luck Daily. Press play to start at the interview.
Chris Wall says Wimbledon Hawkeye has trained well since arriving in Bahrain and is “sharp and alert” ahead of Friday’s Bahrain International Trophy.
Wall is racing manager to Victorious Forever, the racing operation of Bahrain’s Shaikh Nasser, which owns the George Scott-trained Wimbledon Hawkeye. He is one of the favourites for the race. “I think the horse travelled out well, and he’s trained nicely since he’s been here. Everybody is happy with him,” Wall told Nick Luck at the Bahrain Turf Club. “He looks sharp and alert. I suppose, like a lot of them, he’s had quite a long season, which is always a caveat at this time of year.”
‘He deserves to be in this company’
Wimbledon Hawkeye was narrowly beaten in two Group 1s in Europe this summer, including when second in the Irish Champion Stakes, before winning the Prix Dollar at ParisLongchamp last time. “It shows he deserves to be in this company,” Wall said. “He won well enough in France last time, with a bit up his sleeve, we thought. So we’re hopeful of a good run, and we managed to put him in the right hole as well. The trainer was very pleased with the draw last night.”
He praised Scott’s handling of the horse. “He’s very uncomplicated, and George has done a tremendous job with him this summer,” he said. “It would be great for Shaikh Nasser to have a horse that could compete and do very well in the big race for Bahrain.”
“This is going to be very much a race on the international calendar for a long time to come.”
Chris Wall
‘Going from strength to strength’
Wall has been visiting Bahrain for the last three or four years and has watched the racing grow. “They want to have a local horse or a local owner who can compete and do well,” he said. “This is going from strength to strength. The whole place is improving all the time, and I think this is going to be very much a race on the international calendar for a long time to come.”
