Ravishing’s next targets

Owner Hass Taiba confirmed Captain Ravishing was headed for a short spell now with a view to a late January return to racing.

“The Chariots Of Fire and then the Miracle Mile are the first main targets when he comes back,” Taiba said. “We might head there through a 4YO Bonanza (at Melton).”

Taiba ruled-out speculation the rising four-year-old could tackle slot races in WA or NZ early next year.

“No, they aren’t on the agenda,” he said. “After the Chariots and Miracle Mile, the big aim is the Eureka. I had a good talk with Clayton (Tonkin, co-trainer) last night and those three races are the way we’re headed.”

Taiba also confirmed Captain Ravishing would be staying with Tonkin and Emma Stewart.

“I’ve seen some talk about him returning to Ahmed (Taiba) to train. That’s not right, that’s never been the plan,” he said.

“It was actually Ahmed’s idea to send the horse to Clayton and Emma. We’ve always thought this horse had enormous ability, but Ahmed doesn’t have the quality of horses to work him with.

“It’s obviously a different story with Clayton and Emma and all the top horses they’ve got.”

Taiba said he was still buzzing since Captain Ravishing’s mind-blowing and record-breaking Breeders Crown win at Melton last Saturday night.’

“I’ve hardly slept,” he said. “You just don’t see horses do what he did, especially after sitting parked.

“I asked Clayton what he expected going into the race and said something special because the penny was starting to drop and he was learning about racing so much more.

“But nothing could’ve prepared me for that performance. It was incredible.”

Captain Ravishing took 0.3sec off Lochinvar Art’s 2240m track record with his blistering 1min51.1sec mile rate.

“If he can run that time sitting parked over 2240m at Melton, it’s scary what he could run over a mile at Menangle,” Taiba said.

We will see soon enough in both the Chariots Of Fire and Miracle Mile early next year.

by Adam Hamilton, for HRA