Declan Schuster brings us the latest from the Hong Kong racing scene as Wellington heads the line-up for Easter Monday's Group 2 Sprint Cup at Sha Tin, live on Sky Sports Racing.
Speedsters clash for Easter Monday prize
Pitted as the battle of the greys, the absence of Hot King Prawn and Classique Legend from Monday’s (5 April) Group 2 Sprint Cup has left the door ajar for a new contender to stake their claims as ‘king’ atop Hong Kong’s sprinting throne.
While connections ponder Classique Legend’s future in Hong Kong, Hot King Prawn will sit out the remainder of the season to rest, leaving a field of 13, relatively evenly-matched gallopers to do battle over six furlongs without Hong Kong’s big two in attendance.
“He’s had enough for the season, this is his six-year-old year and he won two races including a Group 1 but he’s just had enough for the time being, so I’ve put him away for the season and I’ll try to get him going as a seven-year-old, and if he’s happy to work up we’ll go to the races,” trainer John Size said of Hot King Prawn.
Classique Legend’s untimely bleed on Wednesday morning (31 March) resulted in a mandatory three-month ban.
“It’s very unfortunate because his gallop was unbelievable, he worked like a bullet, coming home beautifully,” trainer Caspar Fownes said.
“He had a couple of coughs after his work and he sort of had a trickle of blood out of his left nostril and we called it. We informed the Club that he had some blood and then the vet scoped him.”
While both miss out on contesting the HK$4.5 million (approx. £420,101) dash, Wellington will take his place as the likely race favourite after laying out strong claims last month with a blistering Class 1 victory, clocking an equal class-record time to that of the legendary Sacred Kingdom in 2007.
French ace Alexis Badel takes the reins again and the duo will depart from gate 12.
“He always has been a very good horse and I couldn’t ride him when I left Hong Kong – I’m just happy to be back on him.”
“I was aboard him on debut and he has that turn of foot that very good horses have,” Badel said.
While Fownes will be without Classique Legend, the flashy Sky Field will take his place with champion jockey Zac Purton aboard, who of late, has been in scintillating form and heads into Easter Monday’s fixture off the back of a four-timer at Sha Tin’s midweek programme.
“He’s going good, I’m confident he’s going to make it into a top horse at the right time, at this stage with another six months under his belt, we’ll probably see the best of him,” Fownes said of Sky Field.
Rated 102, the speedster kicked off this season on a mark 71 with two consecutive Class 3 victories.
“I think he needs a bit more experience at the top end, but he can certainly reel off a very, very quick last quarter which makes him a chance to win a big race in Hong Kong,” Fownes said.
Purton, who partnered Wellington in his first three races this campaign, including two wins, remains wary of the All Too Hard gelding’s capabilities.
“I have a lot of respect for Wellington. He’s a young horse who’s improving – and improving quickly,” said Purton.
“He’s got everything you look for in a horse that’s looking to be a top-liner so he’s going to be very hard to beat,” he added.
Frankie Lor has three engaged for the Sprint Cup – Big Party, Fat Turtle and Winning Dreamer.
“Winning Dreamer ran good against Class 1 horses last time and this time at the set weights with 123 (pounds), we can see if he has improved,” Lor said.
The youngster won his first six races in succession and finished fourth to Wellington last start in his first run following a two-month break.
Lor indicated that both Big Party and Fat Turtle continue to hold their condition but still, Lor is of the view that Fat Turtle does his best work over seven furlongs, not six.
Ricky Yiu, one of Hong Kong’s most prolific nurturers of sprint talents has Voyage Warrior engaged in a bid for back-to-back wins in the race.
“I still think there is something left in the tank - I don’t really think we’ve seen his best,” Yiu said of the 113-rater who has five wins from 16 starts in Hong Kong.
Yiu has won Monday’s sprint an unrivalled four times but he is best known for his handling of world champion sprinter Sacred Kingdom, the brilliant Amber Sky and Ultra Fantasy as well as Fairy King Prawn who triumphed in the inaugural Hong Kong Sprint (1999).
Also in the race is Wishful Thinker, Computer Patch, Regency Legend, Stronger, Amazing Star, Buddies and Beauty Applause.