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Grimthorpe talks up Juddmonte quartet headed to Hong Kong Juddmonte Farms' Khalid Abdullah stands a good chance to make same noise at next Sunday's Hong Kong International Races at Sha Tin. Abdullah will be represented in each of the showcase's four races with Bated Breath headed to the Group 1 Hong Kong Sprint, Cityscape set for the Group 1 Hong Kong Mile, Byword scheduled for the Group 1 Hong Kong Vase and Redwood going to the Group 1 Hong Kong Vase. Speaking from the UK recently, Juddmonte's racing manager Teddy Grimthorpe was asked by Hong Kong Jockey Club representatives if one of them might win. Grimthorpe's impish reply: "Why not all four?" Bated Breath, a four-year-old son of Dansili, certainly deserves a top-level success after a series of tough-luck defeats this year. He ran second, beaten a half-length, to Dream Ahead in the Group 1 July Cup at Newmarket, was just nosed out by that rival in the Group 1 Sprint Cup at Haydock in early September, and most recently was just a neck back of subsequent Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint winner Regally Ready in the Grade 1 Nearctic Stakes at Woodbine on October 16. "Bated Breath is a model of consistency, and should love the conditions at Sha Tin," Grimthorpe said. First or second in 11 of 15 starts, Cityscape knows his job, too. The Selkirk five-year-old won the Group 3 Solonaway Stakes at The Curragh on September 11, was denied only a head by Dick Turpin in the Group 1 Premio Vittorio di Capua at San Siro 13 days later, and enters this off a win in the Group 3 Prix Perth at Saint-Cloud on October 30. "Cityscape had an annoying brush with the camera two starts back when short-headed in a Group 1 in Italy, but he won in a common canter in France last time," Grimthorpe stated before adding that while he wouldn't mind a bit of rain before the race, the contours of the track are what's most important for Cityscape. "We have discovered that what he really needs is a flat track, and Sha Tin ideally fits that criterion," he explained. Byword has been one of Europe's most reliable yardsticks in recent years, and the five-year-old son of Peintre Celebre got a well-deserved first Group 1 success in the Group 1 Prince of Wales's Stakes in 2010. This year, he got his neck down over Cirrus des Aigles in the Group 2 Prix Dollar at Longchamp in October, then saw that form boosted when Cirrus des Aigles upset So You Think in the Group 1 Champion Stakes at Ascot a few weeks later. Byword was a 10-1 chance in the Breeders' Cup Mile, and though he could do no better than eighth at Churchill Downs, Grimthorpe warned to not underestimate the chestnut. "Byword has got a very big chance at Sha Tin," the racing manager insisted. North American race fans are most familiar with Redwood as the horse who won the Grade 1 Northern Dancer Stakes at Woodbine in 2010, while local racegoers might remember him as the runner-up in the Vase last year. After a good second to Rewilding in the Group 1 Dubai Sheema Classic in March, the High Chaparral five-year-old suffered a frustrating form reversal for connections, most recently finishing a well-beaten seventh in the Grade 1 Canadian International at Woodbine on October 16. Grimthorpe said Redwood's campaign has been "disjointed," but that the Canadian International should be taken with a grain of salt, given the unsuitably yielding ground. "Redwood's trainer (Charlie Hills) has been really delighted with his well being since then," he added. Grimthorpe also paid tribute to the Hong Kong International Races, calling it a "vital" race meeting. "It is beautifully placed in the calendar, fantastically organized, and the great opportunity for the Northern and Southern hemispheres to clash," he asserted.
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