Fresh from witnessing Sole Power being crowned Horse Of The Year in Ireland this week, trainer Edward Lynam arrived on track today (Wednesday, 10 December) at Sha Tin to watch his sprinting star progress towards Sunday’s G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint (1200m).
Reflecting on the growing popularity of Sole Power who, in 2014, added two more G1’s to his achievements, including victory in Royal Ascot’s prestigious King’s Stand Stakes (1000m) for a second consecutive year, Lynam said: “This horse never shirks a battle and his style of racing – sitting way off the pace – is untypical of a sprinter. He is electric and a real ‘box office’ horse.”
Lynam, responsible for another European sprinting star in the shape of the recently-retired Slade Power, added of his seven-year-old speedball: “Sole Power was a champion three-year-old but he has never really got the plaudits. Even now, he’s been around for so long that he’s taken for granted.”
The County Meath-based Lynam also reveals that his 10-time winner keeps on surprising the trainer: “At the end of every season you think it’s the end of Sole Power but this was his best year so you keep going with him.”
Whilst his main achievements have come over 1000m, Sole Power’s second to the brilliant Lord Kanaloa at Sha Tin last December confirmed that he is not just a ‘one-dimensional’ speedster.
Lynam concedes his best has been at 1000m but remains encouraged by his performance last year: “He’s been more of a 110-rated horse over 1200m, but more like 117 or 118 over 1000m. However if he runs like he did in this race last year, he’s got a decent chance, if we get luck in running. There is no exceptional horse this year and the sprint trial here asked as many questions as it answered. I’d be most frightened of the Australian horse Buffering - if he could get an uncontested lead he might be hard to catch.”
As to Sole Power’s condition on this latest overseas mission, Lynam said: “He’s lost a bit more weight than usual. Other than that, he seems fine.”
Lynam gives the impression he feels added confidence for Sunday because of the fact that Richard Hughes will ride again. Britain’s champion jockey partnered Sole Power to those two G1 wins in the UK this year and the trainer smiled as he said: “Richard says that he and Sole Power were made for each other.”
