Latest news with #GroupOneChairman'sSprintPrize
South China Morning Post
26-04-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Lucky Sweynesse owner hoping patience pays off in bid to thwart Ka Ying Rising's record attempt
Hong Kong's former top sprinter takes on the new king in Sunday's Group One Chairman's Sprint Prize (1,200m) on Champions Day Lucky Sweynesse's owners are hoping a year of patience will pay off in Sunday's Group One Chairman's Sprint Prize (1,200m) at Sha Tin. Owned by the Cheng family, Manfred Man Ka-leung's sprinter has been off the track since winning the Group Two Sprint Cup (1,200m) at Sha Tin in April 2024, where he beat subsequent Chairman's Sprint Prize winner Invincible Sage. Lucky Sweynesse himself won the 2023 Chairman's Sprint Prize in a record-equalling campaign in 2022-23, where he matched Beauty Generation's record of eight Hong Kong wins in a season. This year's warm favourite Ka Ying Rising is also aiming for an eighth win of a remarkable campaign, something Lucky Sweynesse's connections will be hoping they can play spoiler on Sunday. Lucky Sweynesse is just so, so good! 🔥 The speedster remains unbeaten through 2023 by claiming the Chairman's Sprint Prize & a HK$5 million bonus for winning the Speed Series. @zpurton #FWDChampionsDay | #HKracing — HKJC Racing (@HKJC_Racing) April 30, 2023 Patience has been key for owner Cheng Ming-leung and they will hope to be rewarded when their four-time Group One winner returns from left fore fetlock surgery. 'As a racehorse owner, patience is the key and we always have high hopes for our horse,' said Cheng. 'Though he had to be sidelined for a long period, he recovered well and all along his situation was very stable, and we kept the faith that he will return one day. 'I am excited to see him make a comeback on FWD Champions Day, the same meeting when he scored in the same race two years ago. 'Having said that, I didn't rush my trainer but full credit to Man – he and his stable team has done a great job to turn things around. The horse is fully recovered now and is ready for the challenge.' Lucky Sweynesse is not there to just make up the numbers, with Cheng buoyed by recent blistering trials. 'His performances in his recent trials were very impressive,' Cheng added. 'It looks the horse has a good heart and we are all delighted to see him coming back to his best. 'We always have high hopes for him and hopefully he will have a forward showing this time. I have confidence that he will finish in the frame.'
South China Morning Post
10-04-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
James McDonald booked to ride Japan's Prognosis and Lucky Sweynesse on Champions Day
James McDonald will eye a third straight Group One QE II Cup (2,000m) victory when he rides Japanese star Prognosis for the first time, while the superstar jockey has also confirmed he will ride comeback sprinter Lucky Sweynesse on April 27. With Hong Kong's champion galloper Romantic Warrior absent from the QE II Cup after an arduous campaign in the Middle East, McDonald was without a ride in the HK$28 million feature until connections of Prognosis swooped. The Kiwi rider will also team up with four-time Group One winner Lucky Sweynesse in his return from injury in the Group One Chairman's Sprint Prize (1,200m), while he will again have undeniable claims aboard star miler Voyage Bubble in the Group One Champions Mile at Sha Tin's second biggest meeting of the year. McDonald has seen plenty of Prognosis, having relegated the unlucky galloper to second in three Group Ones – the past two QE II Cups when he was triumphant aboard Romantic Warrior and November's Cox Plate (2040m) at Moonee Valley when he booted home Via Sistina. 'I've faced him three times on Romantic Warrior and we're 3-0 and once with Via Sistina, so we're 4-0 against him,' McDonald said. 'He's always been the horse to beat against those top horses, so I've done my research on him over the years and hopefully we can get the best out of him there. 'If he runs up to his form when he faced Romantic Warrior, then he's going to be right in this because there's no Romantic Warrior this year. The champ's not there so it's anyone's race. If he puts his best foot forward, he can win the race for sure.' A three-time Group Two winner in Japan, Prognosis has been plagued by slow starts and bad luck in running – including in his latest appearance in Hong Kong. The Mitsumasa Nakauchida-trained galloper was only beaten a neck by Romantic Warrior in last year's QE II Cup after starting slowly and sustaining a mid-race move out wide. McDonald will bid for his second elite-level triumph aboard Lucky Sweynesse after booting home Manfred Man Ka-leung's stable star in the Group One Queen's Silver Jubilee Cup (1,400m) in 2023. However, Lucky Sweynesse faces a big test at his first run since fracturing his left fore cannon bone in his Group Two Sprint Cup (1,200m) success 12 months ago. Also standing in his way is superstar sprinter Ka Ying Rising, who will chase a fourth Group One triumph and 12th win in a row. 'Obviously it's his first run back so we watch and learn a bit, but he's Hong Kong's champion sprinter from a year or two ago,' McDonald said. 'He seems to have trialled brilliantly and he gave me a good feel when I was up there doing my little stint. Even though he ran last in a trial with me, he felt good so as long as he's nice and forward for his first-up showing against the champ, Ka Ying Rising, I'm sure he'll give a good account of himself.' Despite taking on a strong field headlined by Australian star Mr Brightside, Voyage Bubble will be the one to beat when he bids for a fifth straight victory in the Champions Mile. McDonald and Ricky Yiu Poon-fai's outstanding galloper have been a dominant force this season, racking up wins in Group Ones the Hong Kong Mile, Stewards' Cup (1,600m) and Gold Cup (2,000m). 'The Bubble's bloody airborne,' McDonald said. 'He's had an unbelievably good preparation. 'It looks a very, very competitive mile but I wouldn't swap him for anything because he's so consistent, he's got a great racing style and he seems in career-best form. I can't see the mile being any problem – obviously 2,000m back to a mile but he's got speed. He's just a confident horse.'
South China Morning Post
05-04-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Disaster in Dubai as Howdeepisyourlove suffers injury in Al Quoz Sprint
Howdeepisyourlove heads out to race under James McDonald in Dubai on Saturday. Photos: Kenneth Chan John Size-trained galloper taken for further assessment after sustaining a suspected dislocated left front fetlock Disaster struck for Hong Kong's Howdeepisyourlove in the Group One Al Quoz Sprint (1,200m) in Dubai on Saturday night, with the John Size-trained speedster failing to finish after suffering an injury 450m from home. Sent off favourite for the six-furlong dash down the Meydan straight, Howdeepisyourlove looked to be travelling beautifully into the race from midfield before he lost his stride and was pulled up by jockey James McDonald. Early reports suggested Howdeepisyourlove suffered a dislocated left front fetlock, with the five-year-old treated on the track before being loaded into the horse ambulance and taken to hospital for further assessment. The George Boughey-trained Believing, who could only manage ninth in last April's Group One Chairman's Sprint Prize (1,200m) at Sha Tin, went onto win the race narrowly from Japan's Win Carnelian, with Regional running third for Edward Bethell. One race earlier, Sword Point had a torrid time of things when running last in the Group Two Godolphin Mile on dirt, struggling throughout before finishing 46 lengths off the victorious Raging Torrent. Frankie Lor Fu-chuen's Sword Point, who has prevailed twice on the Sha Tin all-weather track this season, didn't enjoy the Meydan dirt one bit. Also ridden by superstar Kiwi rider McDonald, the six-year-old galloper failed to take up a prominent position from gate two before resenting the kickback. Owned by Yulong Investments, the Doug O'Neill-trained Raging Torrent was a popular winner under Frankie Dettori. French galloper King Gold was three and a half lengths away in second, while Kazu Petrin grabbed third for Japan. The night's first race for thoroughbreds, the Group Two Dubai Gold Cup (3,200m), went to the home team, with Godolphin's Dubai Future prevailing for trainer Saeed bin Suroor and jockey Silvestre de Sousa. Earlier on Saturday, Hong Kong-based trio Zac Purton, Hugh Bowman and Andrea Atzeni left Randwick empty-handed after jetting down to Sydney for Doncaster Mile Day. Zac Purton fared best of the trio, snagging a Group One third aboard Buffalo in the Inglis Sires' (1,400m).
