Settling towards the rear of the field, Dubawi gelding Lucky Nine (registered in Ireland as Luck Or Design) came with a sustained burst of speed to defeat dead-heaters Joy And Fun and Entrapment, recording a narrow victory in the G1 Hong Kong Sprint over 6f at Sha Tin on December 11.
Bred in Ireland by Darley, Lucky Nine is out of the Green Desert mare Birjand and thus bred on the same cross as the 2010 G1 2,000 Guineas winner Makfi, this seasons G2 Celebration Mile scorer Dubawi Gold, and the Australian Listed winner Zubbaya. Lucky Nine won in the country of his birth as a juvenile before being sold to Hong Kong where he had already recorded two previous Stakes victories, prior to his G1 success.
A model of consistency in Hong Kong where he has had 15 starts, finishing out of the top three on only two occassions, the Casper Fownes-trained gelding was ridden to success by Australian jockey Brett Prebble.
Already the sire of 37 individual Stakes winners internationally including G1 winners Dubawi Heights, Makfi, Happy Archer, Secret Admirer, Waldpark and recently retired Poet’s Voice, who will stand his first season at Dalham Hall Stud, Dubawi will head the Dalham Hall roster, standing at £75,000, October 1, Special Live Foal.
