Derby runner-up sold for £1.2 million and moved to trainer George Boughey before Melbourne Cup campaign
THE Derby runner-up has a new home after selling for an eye-watering £1.2 million.
Hoo Ya Mal, who chased home Desert Crown at Epsom in June, will now be trained by rising star of the training ranks George Boughey.
The colt went to the Goffs Sale in London on the eve of Royal Ascot and was flogged for seven figures.
He was bought by a powerful Australian contingent, including the legendary trainer Gai Waterhouse.
It was presumed the horse would head Down Under to continue his career.
But his new owners have instead switched him from Andrew Balding to Classic winner Boughey, whose stock continues to rise.
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The three-year-old will have some big race targets later in the year, including the St Leger at Doncaster in September.
It is only then that he will join up with Waterhouse before a crack at the £2.5 million Melbourne Cup at Flemington in November.
His first assignment, though, will come at Glorious Goodwood, which kicks off on Tuesday next week.
He will tackle the Group 3 Gordon Stakes and try to prove that his runner-up effort in the Derby, at odds of 150-1, was not a fluke.
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Boughey told SBK: “It’s very exciting to have a horse like Hoo Ya Mal in the yard.
“His work has been good and we are looking at the Gordon Stakes next before a possible tilt at the St Leger, before he heads to Australia with Gai Waterhouse for the Carnival out there.”
Hoo Ya Mal's form could receive a boost this weekend in the King George.
Westover, who finished one place behind him in the Derby, is the hot favourite for the King George at Ascot.
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