Eleven times Group race winner Shogun Lodge, preparing for Sunday's Hong Kong Mile, had a rousing workout on the Shatin grass this morning after which trainer Bob Thomsen declared the gelding was fighting fit and at his optimum racing weight.

With race jockey Shane Dye aboard the gelding travelled well within himself as ran home the last 800 metres of his workout in an unofficial 52 seconds. 'It was good work. Just what we wanted. Shane (Dye) knows the horse very well and he's very happy with him,' Thomsen said.

Thomsen reported that Shogun Lodge weighed in at 560 kilograms yesterday morning. 'That's perfect for him. His ideal racing weight,' the trainer said.

Shogun Lodge lost very little weight on his journey to Hong Kong and has maintained his condition despite the humidity in his new environment. 'It is very humid here and you have to be careful because horses will sweat up but so far everything's been fine with him (Shogun Lodge),' Thomsen said.

Shogun Lodge raced in Australia on Saturday December 1, had a rest on the Sunday, was tranported from Sydney to Melbourne on the Monday and then flew to Hong Kong on the Tuesday. Despite that rigorous schedule, he lost only nine kilograms between the Sydney race and his arrival in Hong Kong. 'He did travel very well,' Thomsen said.

Thomsen said he had no fixed plans in terms of Shogun Lodge's work program for the remainder of the week. 'It's 48 hours between now and Friday and I won't decide until that morning what level of work he requires. I won't be frightened to give him another strong hitout on the eve of the race if that's what he needs,' he said.

Thomsen's Australian colleague Dan Bougoure, who prepares defending Hong Kong Sprint champion Falvelon, looked at ease with his horse and the world yesterday morning after the outstanding 1000 metres performer had light excercise on the all weather track.

Bougoure, like Thomsen, was able to report that Falvelon had travelled well to Hong Kong and maintained his fitness since arriving here.

'He lost only three kilograms on the flight, compared to 9.5 kilograms last year, and I really believe he's in terrific shape. He looks great. He's every bit as good as he was last year. I couldn't be happier,' Bougoure said.

Falvelon, a winner of six of his eight starts at 1000 metres, has 'been here and done that' which according to Bougoure is a major plus.

'At the end of the day you never really know how a horse will adapt to a different environment until they've done it and raced. We know our horse is fine and happy here. He proved that last year. It's a question mark for many of the horses who've not been here before,' Bougoure said.