Hampton Court winner Waipiro to continue career in Hong Kong with Derby main aim

Hampton Court Stakes winner Waipiro has run his last race for Ed Walker, with connections targeting next year’s Hong Kong Derby with the talented three-year-old.

Waipiro provided Walker with a second Royal Ascot winner when landing the Group 3 event by two and a quarter lengths last Thursday – five years on from Agrotera’s Sandringham success.

The Hong Kong Derby has proved elusive for the Siu family, Waipiro’s owners, for more than two decades, with Waipiro’s half-brother Waikuku most recently going close when second in 2019 when drawn in the widest stall.

Speaking in his weekly Weekender column, Walker revealed: “I’ve received the news that Waipiro will now head to Hong Kong, where he will be trained for the Derby there in March.

“He’s the ideal horse for the race as he loves fast ground, has a high cruising speed and a great turn of foot. He will be perfectly suited by a mile and a quarter around Sha Tin.

“The Siu family have been big supporters of ours since 2015 and they enjoy racing horses in Europe. However, the main objective is to produce top-class horses, and hopefully Derby horses for Hong Kong, and in Waipiro we have done our job well.

“He's a half-brother to Waikuku, who finished second in the Hong Kong Derby, so he looks destined to make an impact in that race.”

Waipiro: finished sixth in the Derby

Waipiro has won two of his five starts and finished second to Military Order in the Lingfield Derby Trial and sixth in the Derby at Epsom, before his Royal Ascot victory.

Walker said: “It's obviously sad and disappointing for my team but we had a few great days with him, for which we are very grateful.

“If he didn’t tick all the right boxes then he would stay here, like Stormy Antarctic, who needed cut in the ground and would not have been suited by Hong Kong, which is why he stayed and did great things for us.

“I will be in Hong Kong in March for my annual visit and nobody will be cheering louder than me for Waipiro in the Derby.”

Stormy Antarctic won five Group races for the Siu family and Walker, and Came From The Dark, who represents the same connections, could contest the €100,000 Dubai Duty Free Rockingham Handicap at the Curragh on Sunday. The sprinter is also entered at Windsor on Saturday.

Read Ed Walker's column in full, along with columns by Tom Segal and Paul Kealy, in the Weekender out on Wednesday

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