Hong Kong connections were smiling – mostly - in Singapore after this afternoon’s (14 May) barrier draw for Sunday’s two international Group 1 races went their way.
Trainer Paul O’Sullivan was delighted when he opened his selected envelope to find the number three facing back at him. The Kiwi saddles leading hope Aerovelocity in the nine-runner G1 KrisFlyer International Sprint (1200m).
“Three is an ideal gate,” said O’Sullivan. “He’s got good tactical speed; there appears to be a lot of speed in the race and this gives the option to stay one off the fence. We should get a pretty good run from that gate.
“That draw lets Zac (Purton) do what he wants, he doesn’t have to jump and think ‘do I go forward or do I slot in?’. Our jockeys understand the opposition so well in Hong Kong but here, who knows? If he’d been drawn nine in a nine horse field he could easily be stuck three deep, no cover, so the draw is a big help. The options are open but if nothing wanted to lead we’d be pretty happy to.”
Fellow KrisFlyer International Sprint contender Rich Tapestry, trained by Michael Chang, will break from gate six and the hat-trick-seeking Lucky Nine, from the Caspar Fownes stable, will start from gate two. The latter jumped from gates four and one for his two wins in the race.
For Sunday’s big one, the G1 Singapore Airlines International Cup (2000m), defending champion Dan Excel drew gate 10 of 11. But trainer John Moore was upbeat in spite of that wide berth, with Singaporean front-runner Wild Geese drawn widest of all.
“I don’t see gate 10 as a problem,” said Moore. ”He has plenty of gate speed; he’ll get across easily and be in the first three and Wild Geese on his outside will likely lead. For that reason I think he’s a horse to be reckoned with and he’s still in with a big chance of repeating last year’s Cup win.”
Military Attack won the SIA Cup in 2013 for Moore from gate four. Now under the Fownes banner, the seven-year-old drew gate three this time, an outcome that delighted the stable’s connections.
Also in the Cup, Japanese raider Meiner Frost drew gate eight while the French contenders Smoking Sun and Free Port Lux drew gates one and two respectively.
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Photo 1:
Trainer Paul O��Sullivan draws gate 3 for his runner Aerovelocity in the KrisFlyer International Sprint.
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Photo 2:
Trainer John Moore draws gate 10 for his runner Dan Excel in the Singapore Airlines International Cup.
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