'He's really exciting' - Royal Ascot winner sold to race in Hong Kong

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Bloodstock agent Will Douglass has confirmed the sale of last month's Royal Ascot winner Generic to Hong Kong, billing the three-year-old as a "really exciting" prospect for racing in that jurisdiction. 

The son of Kameko began racing only in March this year, finishing a neck second at Kempton before landing a Yarmouth novice contest by three lengths. He finished a fine second to Constitution River in the Listed Dee Stakes at Chester, breaking the track record in the process behind the subsequent Prix du Jockey Club and Eclipse winner. 

Generic then claimed Group-race success for Andrew Balding and owner Jeff Smith, beating another Ballydoyle runner in Endorsement by a length in the Hampton Court Stakes. It was this effort that made Douglass sit up and take note of the progressive gelding, a €62,000 purchase by Smith's Littleton Stud at the 2023 Goffs November Foal Sale from Galbertstown Stables. 

"I'm always looking for horses for Hong Kong, that's a large part of my business, and leading into Ascot it's always hard to get good people to part with them," Douglass said.

"Once Ascot's been, the market opens up and the Hampton Court and Britannia are the two races that have horses who will suit Hong Kong and their programme.

"There's their Classic Series, with the Classic Mile, the Classic Cup and then the Derby. The Hampton Court is obviously a very nice race to win and it's generally won by a horse who goes on and can compete at the top table. Generic's a really exciting horse and Andrew Balding has done a fantastic job with him, while Jeff Smith and [Littleton manager] David Bowe were great to deal with as well."

Will Douglass: "The resale market is a big part of the industry"Credit: Laura Green

Generic is set to join fellow Hong Kong newcomer James Cummings, the grandson of 12-time Melbourne Cup-winning trainer Bart and a former private trainer for Godolphin in Australia. The gelding could not be in better hands, with Cummings having trained the likes of Hartnell, Anamoe, Bivouac and Broadsiding, and the pair will head into the new Hong Kong season together. 

Douglass said: "I think James has got a couple of nice horses from Australia and he's obviously proven at the top given what he's done there. Hopefully he can get this horse to the Derby in top shape."

Plenty has been made of talented British and Irish performers being sold abroad, therefore adding to the perceived 'talent drain' from those countries. Douglass was quick to point out the benefits of a resale market in Hong Kong. 

He added: "I think they're looking for a very specific type and you're talking about probably a maximum of 30-50 horses in training a year selling from Europe. The resale market is a big part of the industry, especially in the UK and Ireland, and we should be thankful there are people willing to pay for and wanting our product. 

"We still have the best product in the world and we're fortunate to have Royal Ascot, which is a phenomenal showcase of British and Irish racing. I don't look at it as a talent drain as it creates a lot of business for agents, the Hong Kong Jockey Club, UK owners and trainers. It's a great asset to our industry."

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