By David Morgan
With the HK$83 million LONGINES Hong Kong International Races nine days hence, contenders continue to arrive at Sha Tin. This morning (Friday, 2 December) seven of the 11 already incumbent overseas contingent stepped on to the main all-weather track for light exercise, including Australian raider Takedown.
Gary Moore’s charge received a call-up to the Group 1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint (1200m) after winning the G1 Winterbottom Stakes (1200m) at Ascot racecourse, Perth on Saturday (26 November). Following a cross-country flight for a Melbourne connection to Hong Kong, the Stratum four-year-old arrived at Sha Tin’s quarantine stables on Wednesday morning.
“He’s a well-travelled horse now,” David Moore, assistant trainer to his father, said as he watched the gelding return from a light canter.
“He raced in Perth last weekend and then we flew him to Melbourne and then up to here, so that’s a lot of travelling for him, but he’s a very, very happy horse right now. He took the travelling well; he’s a straightforward type of horse - a gentle giant.
“He’s done fine since he got here and he’s looking happier this morning - this is the first time he’s been out to the track and he’s enjoying it.”
Last year’s run-away LONGINES Hong Kong Cup hero A Shin Hikari was one of four Japanese stars to stretch their legs. The enigmatic grey was a handful, as is often the case, and his rider could do little as the five-year-old backed across the track to the far rail upon entry. After relenting and returning to the near side, the entire led fellow Cup hope Staphanos and Sprint star Big Arthur at a walk down the home straight. The trio then split and proceeded at a sedate pace for a circuit.
It was a low-key morning all told. Last year’s Cup runner-up Nuovo Record, on site after a smart G3 win in the US last week, joined her Japanese compatriots in cantering lightly. Britain’s Big Orange, arrived from Australia, went through an easy tune-up, while Pure Sensation, North America’s Hong Kong Sprint representative, took things easy.
|
Photo 1:
The Gary Moore-trained LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint contender Takedown canters on Sha Tin��s all-weather track this morning.
|
Photo 2:
Japanese raider A Shin Hikari (Cup) makes his way to the all-weather track at Sha Tin Racecourse this morning.
|
