DUGGAN’S HK “CONNECTION” KEEPS ON KEEPING ON

THE Hong Kong “connection” continues to pay dividends for Adam Duggan.

The Gosford trainer took three horses to yesterday’s Tuncurry TAB meeting – and won with two of them and the other ran third.

Duggan’s victories with Call Me Basil ($2.35 favorite) in the Maiden Handicap (1300m) and Oh Deer ($2.45 favorite) in the Benchmark 58 Handicap (1200m) – both ridden by Lee Magorrian – continued his excellent start to the season.

So much so that his nine winners in just over the first quarter of the 2025-26 racing year have already bettered his overall tally of seven last season.

Not even the recent retirement of stable flag-bearer Diamond Diesel (he won eight races, including the Listed Civic Stakes, 1400m at Warwick Farm last year with the Hong Kong discard) has halted Duggan’s progress in this new racing year.

Diamond Diesel is one of many HK discards Duggan has done a superb job with for TCR (Tam Coffey Racing, which is Hong Kong-based Derek Tam and Sydney-based Peter Coffey), and it was the former who was responsible for him getting the three horses he ran at Tuncurry, even though all are raced by other owners.

“I got Oh Deer, Call Me Basil and Mission Bravo (who ran third in the 2100m Benchmark 64 Handicap) all on the recommendation of Derek,” Duggan said today.

“I have much to thank him for.”

“Oh Deer (a five-year-old daughter of Spieth) came to me second-hand from a leading Sydney stable after she had four trials, and wasn’t considered up to metropolitan standard.

“She has continued to improve, and has a nice change up of speed when it matters.

“Her two wins for me have both been at Tuncurry, and she was placed twice at the provincials between those victories.

“Call Me Basil (a lightly-raced four-year-old) is the first of the Kingman stock I have trained.

“He was bought online last year, and I’ve had to be patient with him.

“Call Me Basil was having only his third start yesterday and second this preparation, and is a nice horse.

“Mission Bravo began his career in Sydney with Mark Newnham (now based successfully in Hong Kong) and came back to Australia.

“He’s now an eight-year-old and has had half a dozen starts for me, and we won a race with him at Taree last month.”

Duggan’s nine winners so far this season is meritorious considering he has a boutique stable of 15 horses.

“That number suits me fine,” he said. “I can’t have any more anyway as I’ve got 15 boxes.

“It’s been a really good early part of the season, but a number of the team are young horses and we probably haven’t got many more bullets to fire in the coming period.”

Nonetheless, Duggan is seriously considering having a crack at his home track’s Gosford Guineas with unbeaten Pierata filly Brown Sugar.

The $200,000 Listed Guineas (1200m) for three-year-olds on December 28 carries Listed status.

“Brown Sugar has beaten older horses in her two recent wins at Kembla Grange (1000m Midway Maiden Plate on November 15) and Taree (1005m Class 2 Benchmark 62 Handicap on December 1),” Duggan said.

“It would be throwing her in the deep end in the Guineas, but also she would be back against her own age and the race is on her home track.

“Taking on perhaps better class horses will give us a good guide as to where we are with her.”

STORY JOHN CURTIS, DECEMBER 9, 2025