Dermot Weld has decided against sending the Royal Whip Stakes winner, Make No Mistake, to Hong Kong for the Group Two Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Sha Tin on April 18th.

The Curragh trainer confirmed the news yesterday, stressing that it wouldn't be in the horse's best interests to run in Hong Kong at this stage of the season.

The two current European invitees are Francois Doumen's Hong Kong International Bowl winner, Jim and Tonic and Kamil Mahdi's Hong Kong International Cup third Almushtarak. If no European reserve takes Make No Mistake's place, then an extra place will be allocated to the Hong Kong team, said local officials affirmed.

The Group Two Prix d'Harcourt, a noted Prix Ganay preparatory race run at Lonchamp on Easter Sunday, has cut up rather badly, with just four horses remaining from the original entries.

The remaining quartet are Barbola, Dark Moondancer, Sayarshan and Epistolaire.

Three of these met in the Group Three Prix Exbury last month, with the impressive Barbola, numbering both Dark Moondancer (fourth) and Sayarshan (sixth), amongst his victims.

Champagne, the crack New Zealand mare that ran a neck second to Jezabeel in the 1998 Melbourne Cup, has been retired to the paddocks.

Part owner Bob Emery, revealed that he was "relaxed" about the decision, stressing that it could well prove a plus for the Champagne's stud career.

"I have a theory that top race-mares lessen their chances of producing top horses the longer they race," he said.

The daughter of top sire Zabeel raced a total of 21 times and she gained her Group One wins in the STC Ansett Australia Stakes and the Mackinnon Stakes. Emery also reported that a large offer for the mare was turned down. It is possible she may be bred to shuttle sire Woodman.