Intriguing Irish import debuts at Eagle Farm

IT isn’t every day you see an Irish-bred sprinting import having its first Australian run in a Class 3 Plate in Brisbane on a Saturday.

But that is the case with Ventura Ocean, with owners Australian Bloodstock saying their hand was forced into a Brisbane mission with recent changes to the conditions of the rich NSW Provincial Championships Series.

Jamie Lovett from Australian Bloodstock explained that Ventura Ocean, who was runner-up at his last start in England at Newmarket over 1408m last June, had been bought specifically for the Provincial Championships.

However Racing NSW changed the conditions, so the qualifying stable return date for raced horses to be trained by a provincial trainer was brought forward to May 1, 2020, for the 2021 series.

Thus the Kris Lees-trained Ventura Ocean was ineligible and the training and ownership team mapped out a new plan and the gelding will make his Aussie debut over 1200m at Eagle Farm on Saturday.

“We actually bought him for the Provincial Championships, he would have fitted the criteria, but they changed the rules and that’s why he is in Brisbane,” said Lovett, whose syndication company won the 2014 Melbourne Cup with Protectionist.

“He has got the right formlines and no doubt he could have won one of those (NSW Provincial) heats and gone through and run top three in the final.”

Ventura Ocean is a $6 chance to win on debut Down Under, with Australian Bloodstock also owning one of his key rivals in ex-import Wren’s Day ($3.80).