By Michael Guerin
Trainer Paul Court is hoping to put a smile back on the face of the man behind ailing gallops superstar Mongolian Khan.
Canterbury harness trainer Court trains Brilliant Strike, the exciting four-year-old pacer race by Lin Lang, the huge spending Chinese businessman whose Melbourne Cup dream turned to a nightmare on Thursday. Lang also owns Caulfield Cup winner Mongolian Khan, one of the favourites for Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup until he was ruled out after a colic attack on Thursday morning.
Even after winning two Derbies and the Caulfield Cup with Mongolian Khan, the race Lang really wanted, like so many other others owners, was the Melbourne Cup.
Now, he will have to wait until next year. But he might still have a runner in a vastly different 3200m Cup, the $750,000 New Zealand Trotting Cup at Addington on Tuesday week. Brilliant Strike can secure his place in the great race if he runs top three in the $50,000 Kaikoura Cup on Monday.
“We were really disappointed when we heard about Mongolian Khan because Mr Lang has been great to deal with,” said Court.“So I’d love to be able to get this horse into the New Zealand Cup and if we do I have heard there is a chance Mr Lang could make the trip to see him race.
“Sure it isn’t the Melbourne Cup but it is one of the biggest harness races in the world and it would be special to have him in there, especially since he is only a four-year-old.”
Court knows a thing or two, three actually, about winning the New Zealand Cup, having co-trained the recently-retired Terror To Love to win three Cups (2011-13), only the third horse in history to achieve the feat.
“It is a special race and I think this horse can go well enough at Kaikoura to get in and if he does he can get money in the Cup because he is a great stayer,” says Court.
Lang, either personally or through his bloodstock companies, has become one of the biggest purchasers of New Zealand racehorses in both codes in recent years, exporting a huge number to China as well as racing plenty in New Zealand and Australia.
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