Part deux...
Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Sprint
RED OOG (AUS)
Impressed in a turf gallop, finishing up in 23.6 sec.
Joe Pride, trainer:
"I brought him here quite fit after a barrier trial and a race already and his work there was what we were looking for. He pulled up well and he's in good form. He lost minor amount of weight on the flight but he is over that and back above that weight again. The one thing is that he will need a soft draw and an interference-free run. He is definitely good enough to win this race. If he gets luck he will be in the finish and when he is in the finish after a good passage, he generally wins."
MEISHO BOWLER (JPN)
Ridden by work rider Katsuya Shirai, he did a three-quarter-speed gallop on turf finishing about six lengths ahead of work companion Admire Main (CXHK Vase), in a final 400m of 24.3 sec.
Watching jockey Yuichi Fukunaga said:
"That looked like nice work and I think the 1200m distance will suit himhere. He did not finish well [ran 9th] in his last start in the Swan Stakes over 1400m. I don't think the track at Kyoto suited him very well. Sha Tin looks better for him."
SHE IS TOSHO (JPN)
Cantered easily on the dirt under work rider Akinori Orikawa, who later said:
"He was just getting used to the new surroundings. I just gave him an light canter for one lap and he did it very smoothly."
ABSOLUTE CHAMPION (HK)
Received an invite for the race yesterday with the withdrawal of Red Clubs owing to travel sickness.
David Hall, trainer:
"I was very disappointed that he didn't get in originally having a set track record last start. He was always trained for this race so it's not like he has missed any work and he is best fresh. I just hope that he gets an inside draw like when he won last time because I can't say that he's that much better than many of the ones he is going to meet from set weights. He's going to need a few favours."
SUNNY SING (HK) & ABLE PRINCE (HK)
John Moore, trainer:
"The first thing to say about my two in the Sprint is that I think they will be running for places behind Takeover Target ¡Vhis consistency at this level is something we just can't match. I have a slight preference for Sunny Sing over Able Prince because he is the tougher horse, although Able Prince is fresh and that suits him best. A good draw will be critical to their chances."
TAKEOVER TARGET (AUS)
Joe Janiak, trainer:
"He's about 2kgs heavier at the moment than when he won in Japan but that will go after another hit-out tomorrow. He was a bit keen yesterday but he's in as good form as when he was in Japan and we have had no major problems ¡V everything has been really good."
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