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O��Sullivan hoping to fly in sprint feature again with Harrier Jet

13/12/2016

By Andrew Hawkins

The global glamour of the LONGINES Hong Kong International Races may now be just a memory, but for trainer Paul O’Sullivan, he is hoping his luck in 1200m features can continue for just a little while longer when Harrier Jet contests Wednesday’s (14 December) Class 3 Hong Kong Chinese Amateur Athletic Federation Centenary Gold Cup Handicap at Happy Valley.

O’Sullivan was still on a high on Tuesday morning (13 December) after his historic victory with Aerovelocity in the HK$18.5m G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint (1200m) and while Wednesday’s Class 3 trophy race may not carry the same prestige, the New Zealand handler believes he is well-placed to continue his hot run of form in short-course races as Harrier Jet (129lb) looks for his first Hong Kong victory.

“I think Harrier Jet is pretty suited to going around the Valley,” O’Sullivan said at Sha Tin on Tuesday morning. “He’s had one go there now, he’s come up with a plum draw and back down to Class 3 I think he should be pretty competitive. He’s ready to go, he’s pretty close to his best at this stage of his career so I’d be looking for a pretty forward showing.”

Harrier Jet, who will be ridden on Wednesday night by Neil Callan, arrived from Australia as the winner of three of his 10 starts, but despite a number of solid efforts in Hong Kong, he is yet to break through after 10 local appearances. Last start, he boxed on for fourth behind David Hall-trained Super Turbo.

“He certainly has taken longer than expected to become acclimatised,” the trainer said. “We race here right-handed, which he did in Sydney as well, but he’s had a lot of trouble changing legs and getting balanced up. He’s starting to come to it now, though.”

The talk of the track on Tuesday morning was Aerovelocity’s second Sprint victory, and while O’Sullivan acknowledged that runner-up Lucky Bubbles was unlucky, he says he is hoping that Aerovelocity might be able to reclaim the Takamatsunomiya Kinen crown he won in 2015, having now reclaimed his Hong Kong Sprint mantle this season.

“It certainly was an exciting day,” O’Sullivan said, admitting he had watched the replay back a number of times. “You get a horse who is an eight-year-old, anything you get is a bonus. He’s owned by a nice guy (Daniel Yeung) and it was a great day out. We’ll look now to run him in the (G2) Centenary Sprint Cup on 30 January and if he runs well in that, he’ll head back to Japan.

“Before that, I’ve got races to win tomorrow night!”

Sea Jade attempts to emulate last-start romp

Standing in O’Sullivan’s way in Wednesday’s trophy race is John Moore-trained Sea Jade, who makes his Class 3 debut after an emphatic victory at his maiden city track appearance.

Sea Jade won by four and a half lengths under Zac Purton in a Class 4 sprint on 30 November, bouncing out to an uncontested lead and racing away to win with ease carrying 132 pounds. That victory saw him given a 12-point rise in the handicap ratings and means he carries 125 pounds up in grade, but new rider Douglas Whyte is confident the three-year-old can handle the rise in class.

“It looks like the penny’s dropped with him, he won with authority,” Whyte said. “It isn’t too big a jump, it’s obviously competitive in Class 3 but he looks like a horse that’s got ratings in hand and he looks progressive going forward.”

Whyte rode Sea Jade in two griffin starts last season, and says that the son of Star Witness has progressed in leaps and bounds since the blinkers were fitted in his last two training gallops.

“There’s a big difference physically,” he said. “But yes, I think the biggest thing mentally is that he’s got the blinkers on now and it certainly focused him up and it’s made him know what his job is about.”

The leading jockey, who begins a one-month suspension after Saturday’s Sha Tin meeting, says that his biggest worry with Sea Jade is that he is likely to encounter far more pace this time around after leading at a sedate tempo at his last start.

“I think it is a concern, I think it is for any horse coming out of Class 4 with a comfortable, soft lead like that and stepping now into Class 3,” the rider said. “He’s got his work cut out and let’s just hope he’s taken a lot away from that race mentally and he’s able to withstand the pressure that he’s going to get.”

Juglall after a Fish N’ Chips feast in feature

Visiting Mauritian rider Nooresh Juglall partners Almond Lee’s Fish N’ Chips in the trophy race, one of three rides for the Singapore-based jockey at his Happy Valley debut after he began his Hong Kong career on the biggest stage possible on Sunday.

Juglall had two rides on the HKIR undercard, guiding Ricky Yiu-trained The Jazz and Harbour Nova for O'Sullivan into midfield finishes, and he says his maiden Sha Tin raceday was unlike anything he had ever encountered.
 
“I had a great experience,” Juglall said. “The atmosphere, the amount of people here, it was just an unbelievable feeling. I think for us as jockeys, this is what we need – the crowd supporting us, the energy of the fans, it gives us strength.”

The rider is now turning his attention to Happy Valley and hopes to celebrate a personal milestone with his first Hong Kong winner.

“Tomorrow is my anniversary, my wife arrived today so I hope I can ride a winner for her,” he said. “I have three rides and while I don’t know much about them, I think Fish N’ Chips always tries hard and I think he is a chance if he tries his best.”

Wednesday night’s Happy Valley card gets underway with the Class 4 Cheung Sha Wan Handicap (2200m) at 7:15pm, with the trophy race, the Class 3 Hong Kong Chinese Amateur Athletic Federation Centenary Gold Cup Handicap (1200m) set to jump at 9:45pm.

Sea Jade makes all for a Class Four win last start with Zac Purton on board.
Photo 1:
Sea Jade makes all for a Class Four win last start with Zac Purton on board.

 

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