The United States to end star-spangled career in QEII Cup
THE United States will have its final run for Team Williams in Sunday’s Group 1 QEII Cup at Sha Tin, which will bring down the lights on a star-spangled career.
The former European import, which started its career with Aidan O’Brien, hasn’t quite lived up to expectations in Australia, but it has raced with merit on the international stage and co-owner Nick Williams believes the time is right for retirement.
“We love him, he’s been a grand horse for us. He’s a ripper,” Williams said. “We had initially planned to bring The United States to the December international meeting but he had an interrupted preparation which just didn’t make it ideal for him, so we put a line through that.
“We thought though he was the right sort of horse, he travels very well, so we decided that this will be his final run before he retires to stud.”
The United States won the Group 2 Moonee Valley Cup where it defeated subsequent Melbourne Cup winner Prince Of Penzance. Williams said it excelled at the shorter staying trips and we found out during the Melbourne Cup where it finished 14th.
“As he’s matured, he’s proven more adept at a mile and a quarter rather than the further trips,” Williams said.
“He’s an interesting horse in that he’s at the top level of Australian horses, if you take Winx out, certainly among the middle-distance horses. I personally think if you ran horses like Jameka, Hartnell and The United States at their best, if you ran them against each other 10 times, they’d all get a shot at it and they’d probably trade wins.”
It has raced 12 times in the last 18 months for two wins, with one coming in the Group 1 Ranvet Stakes and the other coming in the Group 2 Crystal Mile at Moonee Valley.
He is not a dominant-type Group 1 horse who can afford things to go wrong and still win – a horse that is three-quarters to a length better than his rivals. He needs things to go his way in big races, and if they do, he performs very well,” he said.
“If you watched all his replays in Australia, I think there are four or five other races that he didn’t win but in which you’d say he was a moral beaten. It’s extraordinary, some of them were pilot error, some of them were bad luck, he’s had this and that,” said Williams, who believed it should have finished closer than fourth behind Winx in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes.
“Damien (Lane, jockey) came back last time and he was furious,” Williams said. “Damien said, ‘This sounds ridiculous, but I was travelling like the winner. I know Winx was sitting there behind me, and obviously I wasn’t going to beat her, but nothing else was going to beat me in that race. I got absolutely knocked over and it took a furlong for him to pick himself back up.’
“Looking at it, he probably lost three lengths and he finished a length and a quarter behind Hartnell. But that’s racing, these things happen: unfortunately, in racing you have more disappointments than good times, but that’s what makes the good times so good.”
The United States is currently $13 at Bet365.com to win Sunday’s QEII Cup and Williams doesn’t think the Hong Kong form is far superior to that in Australia.
“It seemed like Hong Kong would be suitable for him,” Williams said. “Apart from the fact that it’s a plane trip and not a float, it’s pretty similar to taking them up to Sydney in that it’s a 10 to 12 hour trip door-to-door.
“Really, it’s a bit of a throw at the stumps, it is tough to grasp the Hong Kong form as it is a closed shop by and large, but we think he’s a pretty good horse and Winx form looks pretty good for this race.
“Stud plans are set in stone and they will be announced in due course.”