The connections of Rovno Amber are looking to vindicate their decision to knock back offers from Hong Kong by chasing a debut win at Mornington.
Rovno Amber runs for the first time in the Mornington Sires (1200m) on Saturday, coming off a second-place finish in an 800m trial at Cranbourne on April 5.
Trainer Shane Nichols revealed there had been some enquiries from Hong Kong for the $250,000 yearling purchase.
“I specked him,” Nichols said.
“I had no owners on board, but I was able to syndicate him amongst my group of owners and they’re all pretty excited to see him at the races.
“There has been a bit of interest from Hong Kong, but the owners have declined at this stage. There are lots of little shareholders in the horse and they don’t want to sell, they want the enjoyment.”
Rovno Amber is a two-year-old by Russian Revolution from the Group 1 winning mare Precious Gem, successful in the Sangster Stakes in Adelaide, and Nichols concedes the colt may be vulnerable on Saturday.
Nichols said Rovno Amber was taking time to develop which is why the trainer had shied away from the early two-year-old contests.
“He is still very new, but he’s a nice horse,” Nichols said.
“He’s drawn well, has good gate speed but still has a fair bit of improvement to come. He wasn’t ready for the early two-year-old races as he was a bit soft-boned, a heavy colt.
“In his trial at Cranbourne, they put a big space on their rivals and ran very quick time.
“But he’s vulnerable on Saturday because it’s his first start while there are others that have raced and have also won a race.
“But he worked well on Tuesday to say he will be competitive in a race like this.”
