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HONG KONG THEY SAID IT DECEMBER 9, 2011 "Fred Spanu took him to the turf course today. He's in charge of the fine tuning when it comes to big races. It was a good piece of work -- he was flying this morning." —trainer Corine Barande-Barbe on Cirrus des Aigles, a leading contender for the Hong Kong Cup "Cirrus des Aigles is enjoying himself and that is what counts. He is as playful as ever. I have always said that he was easy to train because he is willing to do well. Our task is to restrain him rather than anything. Our main concern was to get him back to the stables in full order because the turf course was quite busy today, and he is so playful that he could do foolish things when other horses pass by!" —Barande-Barbe on Cirrus' good nature "It's a lovely gate. Perfect draw and from there I'll have options. I'll go home and do a little more work on the race but I doubt that I'd ride him forward. I'm happy for him to settle and make use of his great turn of foot. He is one of the best horses I've ridden." —jockey Douglas Whyte on Hong Kong Horse of the Year Ambitious Dragon, drawn in post 5 for the Cup "Irian is drawn gate 10, but he's not a horse that likes to be hemmed in. He likes to get out a little wide of everybody, maybe three deep with cover. Darren Beadman reported after his gallop this morning that he's peaking at the right time. We're going into the race with a lot of confidence that we can finish in the first three." —trainer John Moore believes that Irian can perform up to his runner-up effort in last year's Cup "He loomed up to win last time but just knocked up. He needed that run. He'll be better for it. The trip to Singapore served him well. He's settled down a bit, not as wired as he used to be and is saving his energy for raceday." —jockey Darren Beadman on Irian, who ran third in his local prep "He's a big long striding horse, and he maybe wasn't so impressive in his work, but with a good gallop he'll be a different story on Sunday." —trainer Torsten Mundry on Cup contender Durban Thunder "Xtension is my major hope on Sunday. He has been absolutely primed for it, his work and his races leading up to it have been very positive and for that reason, from gate 5, I think he is the horse to beat in the race." —Moore has confidence in Xtension in the Mile "In the space of six months since the (Hong Kong) Derby he's gone from being a teenager to a young man. He's thickened up well and matured. He likes the mile and has had a really good prep. He doesn't have the tactical speed to be right there early, but he'll be comfortable midfield and can finish off." —Beadman on Xtension "I'm very happy with that gate (2). We can sit in behind the pace or he can do it from the front if that's what his jockey wants. Jonathan (Riddell) knows him so well. That's why he's riding him." —trainer John Bary on New Zealand's Mile entrant Jimmy Choux "This is a great experience to ride here and one I wasn't going to miss. I wasn't taking any chances at home lately -- been riding with indicators on." —jockey Jonathan Riddell on what the ride on Jimmy Choux means to him "I'm very pleased with the horse. When he was alone in quarantine, I was a bit worried, but I was happy with him yesterday, and thrilled with him today." —Bary on how Jimmy Choux's gotten over his initial loneliness in quarantine "Don't worry about us -- all good. I think he's started to settle in a whole lot better. His coat's great and he's feeling good." —Bary's tone continues to sound upbeat "I am happy with number 8. It's better than number 9, which I picked last year. I seem to make some progress every year, but I wish I was improving faster. I am told that 8 is a lucky number. Why don't they give me the winner's prize money straight away then?" —trainer Rodolphe Collet on Mile hopeful Sahpresa, who was third here in 2010 "Once again she looked great this morning on the all-weather. She is better looking than last year here and I really look forward to Sunday's race." —Collet on Sahpresa's well-being "Rajsaman is made for such contests as this. He can relax off the pace and finish well, just like he did here last year. Where he is drawn is irrelevant." —jockey Thierry Jarnet compliments his Mile mount Rajsaman "I can't believe it. Up first in both races and I draw 12 both times! What are the chances of that?" —trainer Roger Charlton on Mile entrant Cityscape and Sprint contender Bated Breath's identical posts "Well it's not the gate we would have wanted obviously, but he'll go forward from there because that's what he does. I won't say I'm not fazed by the draw, but what can you do?" —trainer Patrick Shaw is stoic after likely Sprint favorite Rocket Man drew post 13 "I'm a little bit disappointed, it's the widest draw, but what can you do? We will possibly drop him in anyway, he's fresh and well so we'll see on Sunday." —trainer Ricky Yiu on two-time Sprint hero Sacred Kingdom's landing in post 14 "I think she does not want to be sandwiched, so gate 11 will be fine. Also, Rocket Man drew wider than us, which was good." —Akiko Suzuki, the wife of Curren Chan's owner, says what was on everyone's mind about the favorite "He's had to step up to this, the next level, and he's handling it. The blinkers go on and that can be a real plus. They'll help him carry himself better in the run and hopefully provide a little more kick at the end. He's a very genuine horse." —Beadman on Sprint hopeful Admiration "He's nice and relaxed here, and that was just what I wanted. He's done well out here, put on a little weight and I'm happy with how he is." —trainer James Fanshawe on Society Rock, who finished his Friday breeze in an easy :25.8 with Johnny Murtagh "The faster they go, the better for him. He needs to be burnt off his feet, which might sound strange as he is best known as a 1,000-meter horse, but the main thing is that he needs to get settled, which is why we are looking for a lot of speed. He'll need a lifetime best to win and personally I think Rocket Man is going to be very hard to beat, but it would be nice to think that we haven't come all this way for nothing." —jockey Keegan Latham on Sole Power's chances in the Sprint "I don't think Bated Breath will ever have gone as quick as he will on Sunday. And I think that will suit him as the pace of some of his races in Britain has just been slower than ideal. The problem is that the local sprinters are so strong, and everyone knows that European sprinters don't have a great record here." —jockey Steve Drowne is also happy at the projected fast pace for Bated Breath "Sarah Lynx enjoys her traveling and seems to have settled well here. In Japan, she got bumped early on and found herself in a difficult position to come back against tough horses who never let go -- she did her best. I think that the Japan Cup winner, Buena Vista, would be favorite here and that the Tokyo form could prove itself the best here." —trainer John Hammond on Vase entrant Sarah Lynx, who exits a 12th in the Japan Cup "The Hong Kong Vase has been on our schedule and is the final target this season. He is in good form both mentally and physically after three starts in two months in this autumn campaign. He does not have any problem with his gait this morning after the breeze yesterday. He has a good appetite, which is a good sign. Because of the Olympic Games, the facilities at the stable are better than last time when we (with his father Yasuo Ikee) came with Stay Gold (the 2001 winner). —trainer Yasutoshi Ikee on Japan Cup fourth-placer Trailblazer, who sizzled in Vase tune-up with a final furlong in :11.44 "He's very well and that was a nice piece of work on the grass today. He travels well and he'll love the ground." —trainer Charlie Hills on Redwood, runner-up in last year's Vase "As you know he has been in very good form recently but since he has arrived here he looks even better and stronger and his coat looks fantastic. I think it is a very open race and we just need the luck now." —trainer Saeed bin Suroor on Campanologist, who seeks his third straight Group 1 score in the Vase "I wish we'd drawn a wider position for Silver Pond in the Vase because he has got that long stride and he's not the easiest horse to maneuver. He's not a consistent galloper and can be rather awkward to drive." —Jarnet foresees possible problems for Silver Pond from post 2 in the Vase "He's done well since he came back from Melbourne. He's been working great and he's fit enough now. He's probably a lot fitter, after that trip, than if he'd stayed here. He loves going right handed. He's three to four lengths better going right handed as he naturally lays in. He can go forward and there doesn't look to be much pace." —Beadman on Mighty High's Vase prospects "He's in great form. His win in the Jockey Club Cup was super. What I really liked was the way he finished off. I think he'll run the 2,400 meters and his work has been excellent." —jockey Brett Prebble on Thumbs Up in the Vase
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