A horse boasting a particularly compelling history will make his Australian debut at Flemington this Saturday when Unbelievable contests a race for trainer Clayton Douglas.
The globetrotting galloper is set to compete in the Melbourne Cup Carnival On Sale (1620m), having experienced careers in Ireland, Hong Kong, and now Australia.
United States-bred Unbelievable is a sibling to the renowned colt City Of Troy, who achieved victories in the Epsom Derby, Coral Eclipse Stakes, and Juddmonte International Stakes throughout a stellar 2024 season.
Initially known as Bertinelli, Unbelievable commenced his racing journey under the tutelage of celebrated Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien, securing a win at Dundalk on his second start, followed by another triumph over 2000 metres at Newbury as a three-year-old.
After one additional outing in the UK, he was acquired by Hong Kong interests and moved to trainer Frankie Lor.
Following six starts in Hong Kong, which resulted in two placings, the gelding was retired from racing in the region and transported to Australia, initially joining the stable of Anthony and Sam Freedman.
Due to the Freedmans’ 28-day disqualification, Unbelievable was temporarily placed under the care of Douglas and will race under his name on Saturday.
The Freedmans resumed training earlier this week, with Jourama slated to be their inaugural official runner under their own banner at Bairnsdale on Tuesday.
Douglas is of the opinion that Unbelievable has demonstrated sufficient ability in trials to suggest he could evolve into a capable staying performer.
“He started in Ireland, ended up in Hong Kong, was retired from Hong Kong and sent down here,” Douglas stated.
“He’s still a ‘bull’ and will probably benefit from the run at the mile on Saturday after a long time off, but he’s quite a nice horse.
“His trials have been good and at Caulfield Heath the other day, I thought he did a good job as he was out to do a little bit, and he hit the line strongly.
“First-up at the mile, in a benchmark 84, he carries a bit of weight, and he will be somewhere off the speed, but he’ll be running on and then hopefully there will be a race for him over 2000 metres second-up.”
Ethan Brown, recently returned from a successful riding engagement in Hong Kong, will guide Unbelievable, having resumed race riding in Victoria at Geelong on Friday.
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