TIME WARP

The winner of the Hong Kong Cup looks well ahead of the APQEII on Sunday. He’s drawn wide in gate seven of eight for Sunday, but there does not appear to be a great amount of speed inside him. Zac Purton should be able to slide him across cheaply and make his own running. He was below par at his latest outing, however is likely to start favourite moving back to his preferred trip of 2000m.

He galloped on the dirt track this morning, along with other members of Tony Cruz’s team. He certainly looks well and a bold run from him on Sunday would not surprise.

PAKISTAN STAR

It’s difficult to know what to make of Pakistan Star’s chances on Sunday. You truly can’t trust him to turn up and want to run. He’s no doubt one of the most talented horses stabled at Sha Tin, but he is just plan mad. He has a new jockey booking, with Kerrin McEvoy now to take the ride as Silvestre De Sousa’s travel plans were not able to be confirmed. Kerrin is a great rider, but this will be challenging for him, having not laid eyes on Pkistan Star. It is a strange decision to my way of thinking, with Matthew Chadwick here who knows him well and has won on the horse.

He galloped 800m on the dirt track, recording a time of 57.0s (30.7, 26.3). Trainer Tony Cruz said: “Pakistan Star was out on the track this morning and he’s fine, he’s a healthy horse and he’s ready for the race. He’ll be dropped in behind on Sunday so he can relax and come from the back – it’s only a small field.”

BEAUTY GENERATION

The Hong Kong Mile winner galloped on the dirt track, with race jockey Zac Purton onboard.  It was an easy gallop to finish off the week, working with the recently retired Harbour Master.

He’s drawn gate one, an ideal one for him as he can take up his customary position on the speed or in the lead without expending to much effort. He’s another coming off a tough run, but his effort was good.

 

BEAUTY ONLY

A winning return to form at his last start was a great result for Beauty Only and his connections (not to mention those of us who were on at 40/1). He really had the race run to suit him on that occasion, however he is not likely to see that scenario repeat on Sunday, with the pace likely to be moderate.

He was another of Tony Cruz’s team to complete their preparation with an easy gallop on the dirt this morning.

AL AIN

The performance of Al Ain was one of the strangest things I’ve seen on a track. He flat refused to co-operate with his handlers for over 45 minutes, before finally acceding to breeze twice down the Sha Tin straight the wrong way.

He was originally set to gallop on the turf, but leaving the home straight became fractious and tried to dislodge his ride. Despite surging he refused to gallop, finally unseating his rider in the back straight. Fortunately for all concerned the rider was able to maintain control of him despite being thrown. After what seemed like an eternity he was coaxed onto the dirt track, where he continued to buck and pig root. He finally completed a lap of the track, the reverse way of going.

After returning to the turf he completed the two gallops up the straight, the reverse way. Trainer Yasutoshi Ikee said: “The horse was tense in the trotting ring today, so I was concerned about how he would breeze. I never expected this at all. Thanks to the HKJC, we renegotiated and Al Ain galloped the opposite direction in the stretch. We couldn’t drive him strongly in the first part because of the short distance. The organisers were very kind and we had a lot of time with him on track, so he was driven stronger in the second gallop at the end of the straight course.  In the end I was relieved. Sometimes he’s difficult at home. He’s still green mentally but he’s in good form physically so hopefully he won’t behave badly in the race.”

I’ll catch up tomorrow with a few more who galloped this morning.