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Gold-Fun, Thunder Fantasy prevail in thrillers at Sha Tin
"I was quite confident before the race," Soumillon said, "and I stayed covered behind the favorite, which was where I wanted to be. I had the perfect position turning into the straight; I shook him up 300 meters out and 100 meters out I knew I could win it, but I knew it was going to be a small margin. "The leader fought back and was actually in front again just after the line so I was happy that the winning post came when it did!" Gibson credited Soumillon for a great ride. "It was not a surprise for me -- he was the highest rated horse in the race, and against a quality field today I felt the jockey made the difference in such a small margin. It's all credit to Mr. Soumillon and I wish he was here more often," the trainer said. "I haven't hidden my opinion that, although he was voted Hong Kong's champion miler last year, I always thought 1400 meters was his best distance and now we've just won a Group 1 race at 1200 meters. "Today is about Gold-Fun and Christophe Soumillon. It was a fantastic ride from the French champion jockey. It's a great honor and privilege to have him back in Hong Kong and I wish he was here more often," Gibson reiterated. Finishing a close fourth was Peniaphobia (Dandy Man), who was coming off a score in the about five-furlong Centenary Sprint Cup, the first leg of Hong Kong's Speed Series on January 25. Sunday's Chairman's Sprint is the middle leg of the series, which concludes with the March 15 Queen's Silver Jubilee Cup, won last year by Gold-Fun. The six-year-old gelding sports a mark of 22-10-5-1, and he has won or placed in a total of 11 stakes. His other major victories include the 2013 Hong Kong Classic Mile and Jockey Club Mile, and he has finished second in the past two runnings of the Hong Kong Mile. Although not suited by the about 1 1/4 miles of the Hong Kong Derby in 2013, he called on his class to place third.
Thunder Fantasy was a proven Group 1 performer in Australia for Anthony Cummings. The winner of the Autumn S. (Aus-G2) at Caulfield this time a year ago, he was second in the Rosehill Guineas (Aus-G1) and third in both the Australian Guineas (Aus-G1) and Victoria Derby (Aus-G1). "Mr. Chiu owned the horse when he raced in Melbourne and he ran third in the Victoria Derby there over 2500 meters as a three-year-old, which is a pretty good effort," Size noted, "so therefore his staying credentials were already in place. It was just a matter of him making the adjustment to Hong Kong and training up well coming through the preliminary races. "He hasn't put a foot wrong the time he's been here, even though he's a colt, and his temperament's been fine. He's done exactly as we'd hoped -- as the distances have gone further he's looked a little bit better." Thunder Fantasy will now try to emulate his sire, Lucky Owners, hero of the 2004 Hong Kong Derby. Stablemate Luger (Choisir) is also on course for the Hong Kong Derby following a Class 2 handicap score in the nightcap, which gave Size his fifth winner on the card. Earlier, Hong Kong Derby prospect Dynamism (New Approach) landed a Class 2 handicap for David Ferraris. "He's a top, top horse," Ferraris said. "Maxime (Guyon) will come back to ride him in the Derby. I booked him before this race to come back for the Derby -- that's how confident I was today." Bet Horseracing Free Online at TwinSpires.com
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