Wayne Lordan hopes to crack Vase on Galileo Rock in Hong Kong

Wayne Lordan aims to make a spectacular first impression on racing-mad Hong Kong this Sunday when the top jockey is among those flying the Irish flag on the hugely prestigious and lucrative international card.

Between them just four races at the world-renowned Sha Tin track are worth a colossal €6 million-plus, and five Irish-trained horses will attempt to secure a slice of that action in three of the races.

Among the handful of Irish stars will be Galileo Rock in the mile-and-a-half Vase, a race which could provide the David Wachman-trained three-year-old with a belated first victory of 2013.

Placed in three Classics, the Epsom and Curragh Derbies, as well as the St Leger, Galileo Rock is rated a 6/1 joint-second favourite with Red Cadeaux in some betting lists for the Vase, behind The Fugue who is a warm favourite to go one better than in the Breeders' Cup last month.

First time
"It will be Wayne's first time to ride in Hong Kong and as well as Galileo Rock, he will be on Slade Power for Eddie Lynam in the Sprint," said Lordan's agent, Ryan McElliogott, yesterday. "The horses seem to have travelled well and fast ground should be ideal."

Lynam is also represented in the Sprint by his stable stalwart Sole Power while Willie Mullins’s Simenon is continuing his international travels and will join Galileo Rock in the Vase. After finishing fourth in the Melbourne Cup, Simenon ran out of the money in the Japan Cup but has again accompanied the French star Dunaden to Sha Tin for a third big-money tilt in just over a month.

“Emmett (Mullins) is very happy with him. He worked this morning and went well. It’s a very hot race, and realistically if he can make the first half-dozen, we’ll be pleased. That’s our goal,” Mullins said yesterday.

The Irish team on Sunday is completed by the dual-Group One winner Gordon Lord Byron, who has another crack at the Mile.