By Sean Trivass
Well I am still here in Hong Kong with another big race meeting coming up on Sunday afternoon and this time we have a decent bit of British interest with not one but two runners in the Champions mile looking to pick up their fair hare of the £1,600,000 in total prize money with £23,000 for finishing sixth of seven so one of them will get some money at the very least.
I have been watching them work each and every morning here at Sha Tin and although I am wary of what I am seeing as they have only got out of first or second gear once or twice, they have looked good and my International colleagues have felt the same.
Convey has been wearing bright blue leg protectors which make him stand out even more during work, but he looks in good form and has a good coat though I did feel his knee action was a little high and am wary of how he will cope with the good to firm going expected by Sunday afternoon. His Lingfield form when beating Absolute Blast looks way short of what will be needed here but then again he is improving, and Sir Michael Stoute' five-year-old could yet make fools of us all.
I have been pretty impressed with trainer Ed Walker who has left no stone unturned to give Stormy Antarctic the best possible chance of success including walking him around the Parade Ring both without and with blinkers (in that order),which he will wear for the first time in anger on Sunday.
I did have a fear that the going could be too quick for him which is still a nagging doubt, but he handled his first gallop on turf without any issues Friday morning and looks a picture. His winning form is all on ground with the word soft in the description but if he does handle it at racing pace, and as one of my esteemed Australian colleagues pointed out to me, would any of the other runners get within three lengths of Ribchester as he did in the Jacques Le Marois in August last year.
I am convinced he will outrun his price of 30/1 and do think he will lead the British home but whether he can handle the journey, the heat, the humidity, and the opposition is a different question.
It is boring and it is obvious but here in Hong Kong they think they have a new superstar in Rapper Dragon and short priced as he is, I can't see past him for the winner. He has won his last four races in a row including the Chairman's Trophy over course and distance last time and the Hong Kong Derby when beating the classy Pakistan Star the race before, and with local hero Joao Moreira in the saddle and home advantage I cannot oppose him here however hard I try.
On a back up card of nine other races I am only interested in the £1,400,000 Chairman's Sprint that follows even though (to no great shock), Europe do not have a representative. This will be the farewell run of the ever popular Aerovelocity as he has his sixteenth start looking for his eighth win that add up to close to three and a half million pounds in prize money, and there won't be a dry eye in the house if he comes home at the head of this field.
Sadly that seems highly unlikely after his last of eight here in January and we have a new superstar on the block in Mr Stunning who is seen as the next big thing. He is tactically astute and can sit with the pace or come from a long way back depending on how the race unfolds, and with that man Moreira in the saddle he can make it a big race double for the main man yet again today.
Sean's Suggestions:
Rapper Dragon 9.00am Sunday Sha Tin
Mr Stunner 9.30am Sunday Sha Tin
Sean Trivass was a guest of the Hong Kong Jockey Club and would like to thank them for their hospitality and all their help.
