Champions Mile
RAPPER DRAGON – HK
Cantered a lap on the all-weather track.
Trainer John Moore said: “All is going well, the way he worked on the weekend on the dirt was really good – he hates the surface and he still ran 11.4 (seconds) for the last 200m. He will gallop with a lead horse on the turf on Thursday morning.”
CONVEY – GB
Cantered one lap of the all-weather track.
Mark Westgate, assistant to trainer Sir Michael Stoute, said: “He's travelled really well – lovely. It’s not easy being more than 24 hours door to door but he’s coped well and settled in now. His appetite was down a touch when he arrived but that’s not abnormal, a bit like us having a touch of jet-lag. He’s quite bright in himself now. He had his first canter this morning and was just out there to stretch his legs. He’s fit having won two races on the all-weather at home this year and he’ll likely just need one breeze up later in the week.”
HELENE PARAGON – HK
Cantered a lap on the all-weather track.
Trainer John Moore said: “How he’s going, that’s a question mark. On face value, his latest barrier trial was poor, but we put him with a workmate on the weekend, we put him with Agree, who runs on Wednesday night. Sam (Clipperton) rode Helene Paragon and said he worked the place down. Sometimes, horses that are flat will work very well, so the jury’s out as to whether he can produce his best form. Health-wise, he looks fine and to the eye, you’d say he’s going to run a big race. He’s one of the big three, along with Rapper Dragon and Beauty Only, if he’s at his best. He’ll also gallop on the turf on Thursday with a workmate, but it won’t be with Rapper Dragon, I’ll keep them apart.”
STORMY ANTARCTIC – GB
Cantered one lap of the all-weather track.
Deepak Gaikwad, assistant to trainer Ed Walker, said: “He’s well. He’ll have a gallop later in the week, maybe after Ed (Walker) arrives. He’ll have look at him and decide.”
Chairman’s Sprint Prize
DASHING FELLOW – HK
Cantered a lap on the all-weather track.
Trainer John Moore said: “I gave the owner the choice and he said to run, so we’re hoping he can pick up a cheque. He’s aiming at the 1400m Group 3 (the Premier Cup) in June. He’s working OK though.”
DUNDONNELL – HK
Galloped on the all-weather track and clocked 1m 19.1s (28.5, 26.9, 23.7) for 1200m.
Trainer Caspar Fownes said: “He’s not too bad. It’s always hard to come back from a trip overseas – he just needs to get to the races and just sharpen him up a little bit, see how he performs and then we can look forward to the race after that when he’s probably going to be more competitive.
MR STUNNING – HK
Cantered a lap of the small inner all-weather track.
Big-race rider Joao Moreira said: “I’m extremely happy with him. He had an easy exercise in his last barrier trial and he gave me a very nice feeling. He’s a versatile type of horse, he’s won leading and he’s won coming from behind. He was able to beat these horses last time so why not again? He’s a rising type of a horse – I always thought he was as good as he’s been so far and I think there’s a little bit more to come from him.”
NOT LISTENIN’TOME – HK
Cantered a lap of the small inner all-weather track.
Trainer John Moore said: “He’s come back from Dubai very well, but you never know how they’ll come out of the travel. Last time he came back and didn’t fire, but he’s done the trip twice now so it might be different chemistry this time. He won the trial and he looked impressive, but he carried a featherweight under Derek (Leung). He looked great though and often when they come back, they trial poorly. But that left me thinking, OK, maybe he’s going to run a race. It’s just a wait and see though – you never know if he’ll kick after the trip. He’s a bit of a shy horse, he needs to be in clear running as he gets a bit claustrophobic otherwise, but he still needs a good gate to be able to get into a rhythm. We saw that in the Jockey Club Sprint.”
PENIAPHOBIA – HK
Cantered a lap of the small inner all-weather track.
Trainer Tony Cruz said: “He’s looking really well, I’m very happy with him. We’ll see what he gets at the barrier draw on Thursday.”
