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INTERNATIONAL FEATURE
DECEMBER 13, 2014
Hong Kong Sprint: Aerovelocity's worth a stab
by Kellie Reilly
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| Aerovelocity was on the upswing before a traffic nightmare in the local prep
(Hong Kong Jockey Club) |
Of Sunday's four International Races, the Hong Kong Sprint is by far the most
inscrutable. Two-time winner Lord Kanaloa is now in glorious retirement, and the
current Japanese sprinters have reverted to the mean. And after an almost
impossibly messy local prep, the injury scare to Australia's Buffering, and the
historical stat against Ireland's Sole Power and Gordon Lord Byron, the Sprint
presents a handicapping headache -- maybe even a migraine.It would be simplistic to look at Sole Power, the distant second to Lord
Kanaloa here last year, and name him as the logical successor. The newly-minted
Irish Horse of the Year is a five-furlong specialist, winless in eight attempts
at six furlongs.
Only ninth in the 2011 HK Sprint, the deep closer left that memory well
behind him with a terrific run last December. Yet a couple of his rivals were
unlucky, including Sterling City, who lacked room in the stretch, and 2011
champion Lucky Nine, who hurt his own chances by getting off to one of his
notoriously poor starts. Sole Power has had his share of bad luck too, most
recently when unable to get any daylight in the October 5 Prix de l'Abbaye de
Longchamp. He does have a devastating kick at his optimum trip, as evidenced by
his two victories in the Nunthorpe at York and his consecutive wins in the
King's Stand at Royal Ascot.
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The other key negative about Sole Power, and his compatriot Gordon Lord
Byron, is that no European-based horse has ever won the HK Sprint. Australia,
South Africa and Japan are the only countries to have grasped the trophy from
the otherwise routine domination by the locals, who have garnered 10 of 15
runnings. In fairness, if the Europeans ever manage to end the shutout, it will
probably be in an open renewal much like this one.
Gordon Lord Byron has a stronger resume over this distance, highlighted by
victories in the 2013 Sprint Cup at Haydock (in which he was also second in both
2012 and 2014), and in the October 18 British Champions Sprint in his latest.
But the Tom Hogan globetrotter is perhaps even better suited by seven furlongs,
in light of his score in the 2012 Prix de la Foret and his runner-up efforts in
the past two editions won by Moonlight Cloud and Olympic Glory. Indeed, Gordon
Lord Byron snared another Group 1 at about 7 1/2 furlongs in the March 29 George
Ryder at Australia's Rosehill.
A mile is at the upper end of his stamina range, but he was still a
creditable fourth in the last two runnings of the HK Mile. While he could be
vulnerable to a pure speed type over this right-handed six furlongs, Gordon Lord
Byron should find himself in the frame.
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| Buffering is a top threat if his hoof holds up
(Hong Kong Jockey Club) |
Normally an Australian of Buffering's profile would attract hearty support,
but the four-time Group 1 star is trying to rebound from an abscess in his right
front foot that just erupted earlier this week. Trainer Robert Heathcote was
glad that it happened several days out, giving him time to get over it, and
recalled that Buffering made a similarly quick recovery before his near-miss in
the 2012 Doomben 10,000. All reports are encouraging at the moment.
At his best, Buffering would be a big threat on the front end. The speedster
has terrier-like tenacity. Formerly known as the bridesmaid to unbeaten phenom
Black Caviar, Buffering boxed to a well-deserved Group 1 laurel in last year's
Manikato at Moonee Valley, sticking his neck out to hold on from Lucky Nine. He
went on to make it three in a row in the VRC Sprint Classic at Flemington and
the Winterbottom at Australia's Ascot (in Perth), again fighting doggedly to
prevail.
Later third to Australian Horse of the Year Lankan Rupee in the April 12 T.J.
Smith at Randwick (in which Gordon Lord Byron was only sixth), Buffering turned
the tables on Lankan Rupee with another gutsy verdict in the September 26 A.J.
Moir back at Moonee Valley. He was roughed up early when defending his title in
the October 24 Manikato, did well in the circumstances to finish seventh in a
blanket finish, and exited the race very much the worse for wear. Nonetheless,
the Mossman gelding came back two weeks later for another title defense in the
Classic at Flemington, got softened up by an early war with Lankan Rupee, and
tired to fourth to Australia's latest sprint kingpin, Terravista. That formline
is very strong; if only we could have as much confidence in Buffering's foot
holding up.
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It's no disrespect to say that there's no Lord Kanaloa among the Japanese
trio, and that's to be expected, since he's far and away the best sprinter his
nation's ever produced. Snow Dragon has the distinction of delivering big
performances in both of Japan's top sprints this season. The aptly named gray
was second in the March 30 Takamatsunomiya Kinen, and sprang a 46-1 upset in the
October 5 Sprinters Stakes on a Niigata course that was in rough shape from
recent rainfall.
Although she's yet to beat Snow Dragon, Straight Girl may have more upside.
She likely prefers better going, so the ground may have worked against her when
placing in the Takamatsunomiya Kinen and the Sprinters. The Fuji Kiseki mare was
a slightly unlucky third in the May 18 Victoria Mile at Tokyo, where she had to
wait for a seam to open and missed by all of a half-length. She had no chance in
the June 22 Hakodate Sprint either, hemmed in traffic in a total toss-out. Post
13 marks a continuation of her bad luck; you'd need to be Lord Kanaloa (post 12
in 2013) to win parked out there.
Little Gerda has drawn the rail for her third consecutive race, a spot that
worked out beautifully for her in the August 24 Kitakyushu Kinen and the
September 19 Centaur. She overtook a useful type in Hakusan Moon in the latter,
but Straight Girl has had Little Gerda's measure in the past. While Little Gerda
is improving, she and Straight Girl must defy a fearsome stat: no distaffer has
ever won the Sprint.
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| Lucky Nine held an unlucky Sterling City to repeat in the Chairman's Sprint Prize back in February
(Hong Kong Jockey Club) |
The usual place to look for the winner is among the home team, but good luck
deciphering which one to back. Lucky Nine brings the best credentials on paper,
as the 2011 HK Sprint winner, current two-time KrisFlyer International Sprint
hero, and Hong Kong's reigning champion sprinter.
But despite his name, the Caspar Fownes veteran often finds a way to be
unlucky. That has happened in his past two attempts in this race, drawing post
12 en route to a fifth in 2012 and his aforementioned hiccup at the start a year
ago. Lucky Nine was also a victim in the local prep, the November 23 Jockey Club
Sprint. Shuffled back toward the rear, he was strung up in traffic until it was
too late, and bolted into fifth once belatedly in the clear. Lucky Nine is well
qualified to win again, but he's just as capable of more tales of woe.
The Jockey Club Sprint only scrambled the local divisional picture.
Highly-regarded sophomore Peniaphobia came out on top, overcoming the dreaded
ground loss from post 14. The Tony Cruz trainee looks bound for stardom on this
circuit, but can he reach the pinnacle this soon? Successful in the 2013
Weatherbys Super Sprint at Newbury when trained by Richard Fahey, the Dandy Man
gelding has made fine progress through the Hong Kong ranks this year. Like the
Irish shippers and the mares, however, Peniaphobia would have to make history to
win: no three-year-old has ever won this race.
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Moreover, the sob stories from the also-rans in the Jockey Club Sprint beg
the question of whether he wasn't actually fortunate to be on the outside,
avoiding the snarls that ruined the chances of Lucky Nine, Sterling City and
Aerovelocity.
Sterling City's name may be familiar to American fans, since he beat Rich
Tapestry in the March 29 Dubai Golden Shaheen. The John Moore charge had
previously captured the Chinese Club Cup on New Year's Day and finished an
unlucky third to Lucky Nine in the February 16 Chairman's Sprint, where he was
bottled up and charged late to miss by a diminishing half-length. Sterling
City's not performed up to that level since Dubai, but he never had a fair shot
in the prep, and he's been training superbly.
But the one I'm tempted to side with is Aerovelocity, who was butchered when
last as the favorite in the local prep. Trying to get through on the fence, the
New Zealand-bred son of Pins was hampered, but he was undeterred and bravely
attempted to thread the needle again. Then the door was totally shut, and he had
to check badly. Hong Kong champion rider Zac Purton wrapped up on the lost
cause, and his official last-of-14 effort is best disregarded.
Aerovelocity had been a relentless improver for Paul O'Sullivan. On
International Day last year, he toted the top weight of 133 pounds to victory on
the undercard. He extended his winning streak to five in the May 25 Sha Tin
Vase, a sequence snapped on the step up to seven furlongs in the June 8 Prince
Jewellery & Watch Premier Cup. Reappearing in the October 26 Premier Bowl back
at this trip, he overcame a slow start to win from farther off the pace than
usual.
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| Singapore's Spalato is a rebound candidate
(Hong Kong Jockey Club) |
The formline of that race matches up closely with the Jockey Club Sprint,
thanks to the placegetter in common (Smart Volatility), furthering the idea that
Aerovelocity would have given Peniaphobia a run for his money with a clear
passage. Aerovelocity boasts a 9-6-1-1 mark at this course and distance, his
only unplaced effort coming in that luckless prep.The other unfortunate to remember from that race is Singapore sensation
Spalato, who brought a perfect six-for-six career record into his Hong Kong
debut. Drawn out wide in post 13, he chased early and faded to 13th in a bitter
letdown. It later transpired that he had sustained a setback right before the
race and exited with a right hind leg injury. In hindsight, he shouldn't even
have run.
The son of Elusive City has elicited comparisons to past Singapore standout
Rocket Man, who was just denied in the 2010 HK Sprint. Spalato has looked
special by winning from five furlongs up to about 1 1/4 miles in the July 13
Singapore Derby, and he dusted his opponents when reverting to sprints in
October at his home track of Kranji. Reportedly once more in fine fettle, and
training well, Spalato could avenge Rocket Man at a huge price.
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Additional thoughts on the Sprint will be posted on the
TwinSpires.com blog
Saturday.
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