Red Cadeaux could be on the way to Dubai after finally proving his Group 1 credentials in a thrilling finish to the Hong Kong Vase at Sha Tin.
Ed Dunlop's globetrotter was famously denied victory in a photo-finish to last year's Melbourne Cup, but this time under Gerald Mosse he held off Jaguar Mail, the Japanese raider, by a short head in the 2,400m contest.
Red Cadeaux is likely to be aimed once again at the Flemington showpiece, run over 3,200m in November, but a trip to Meydan Racecourse in March is on the cards.
"He deserved this win - three pixels in the Melbourne Cup last year, no pace in the Melbourne Cup this year and he got struck into in the Japan Cup and we should have finished sixth," Dunlop said. "We may consider Dubai next as an option. There's the staying race [the Dubai Gold Cup] but we'll probably look at the Dubai Sheema Classic now."
It was Dunlop's third success in Hong Kong after Snow Fairy won the Hong Kong Cup two years ago and Oujia Board took the Vase in 2005.
Earlier in the day, Ambitious Dragon was given permission by the stewards to take his place in the Hong Kong Cup after an injury scare. It proved a worthy decision as the dual Hong Kong horse of the year took the Hong Kong Mile.
Ambitious Dragon was only seventh behind Cityscape in the Dubai Duty Free on World Cup night, and it was another flop from that race who lifted the Hong Kong Cup, the feature race of the card.
California Memory was 12th in Dubai, but became the first horse to score back-to-back victories in the 2,000m contest, under Matthew Chadwick.
Lord Kanaloa, another Japanese raider, won the Hong Kong Sprint.
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