Audemars Piguet QEII Cup Trackwork �V Tuesday, 19 April

19/04/2016

BLAZING SPEED (HK)
Trainer Tony Cruz said: “I’m very happy with Blazing Speed, he’s fitter than last year – he’s 100 percent. As long as he has a good pace on and can settle in behind, I think he’s in with a serious chance. He didn’t settle in his last race and was pulling all the way. If he settles well he’ll definitely be in the first three, and I see those Japanese horses as the horses to beat. He had a barrier trial last Friday so we’ll stick to the all-weather with him and give him a gallop this Thursday.”

ERTIJAAL (UAE)
Galloped on turf in 1m 20.8s (30.0, 27.1, 23.7) under Douglas Whyte.
Trevor Brown, assistant trainer to Mike de Kock, said: “All good. We were very happy with the gallop this morning, and Dougie came back quite pleased with that too. He is all settled into his new surroundings without issue.”

HELENE SUPER STAR (HK)
Trainer Tony Cruz said: “The 2400 metres is more his game, the 2000 metres is a bit short for him nowadays, so I just hope we get a good pace on. He’ll breeze on the all-weather on Thursday.”

HIGHLAND REEL (IRE)
Worked on the all-weather track under exercise rider David Bergin in 1m 37.0s (33.5, 33.2, 30.3).

LOVELY DAY (JPN)
Lovely Day remained in the quarantine area as planned.
Work rider Joji Yamamoto said: “The turf track yesterday had plenty of cushion due to the rain in the morning.  I thought it was a really good track for training him.  He is in great shape and we are happy he is keeping his good condition.  Hopefully he will have a good solid fast work on Thursday and a smooth preparation into Sunday.”

NUOVO RECORD (JPN)
Warmed up in the trotting ring followed by an easy canter on the turf track under Kazuyoshi Aita.
Work rider Kazuyoshi Aita said: “Last year when she came out on the turf course for the first time she was a bit unsure with the new surface of the track.  She lost a bit of her concentration the first time she started working on turf this morning, too. However, we are happy with her condition and she is in great shape.  She is as fit as we had her last December when she placed second in the Hong Kong Cup.  We have to look after her carefully getting ready for her gallop on Thursday.”

RISING ROMANCE (AUS)
The David Hayes-trained mare stretched her legs on the turf course this morning under Alexandra Slattery, working over 800 metres in 59.8s - running her last 400m in 27.7s.

Jacob Jelfs, supervising the mare’s preparation until the trainer's arrival tomorrow, is pleased with how she has settled in and said: “All the indicators are positive at this stage. She arrived here fit; she looks well, she looks good in the coat and overall she's a very straightforward mare. She doesn't need to do much here and this morning she wasn't out to run any quicker than she did. The rider's happy and that's the main thing as she knows her well.”

Jelfs, who formerly worked for Charlie Hills in the UK, has been with Hayes for eight months. Interestingly, he is fulfilling a role in Hong Kong which was formerly undertaken by his sister Lizzie. Her excursions to Hong Kong included a 2009 trip with Niconero who finished eighth behind Presvis in the AP QEII Cup. Hayes' only AP QEII Cup runner since then was Criterion who finished third to Blazing Speed last year.

SATONO CROWN (JPN)
The high-class colt was out on the all-weather track after remaining in quarantine on Monday.  Warmed up in the trotting ring then enjoyed an easy canter. 
Work rider Tomohiro Takahashi commented: “He was very fresh and became more aggressive this morning since he had only easy work yesterday in the trotting ring.  But he was relaxing more the longer he was out and stretched his legs as planned.”