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While it was a quiet day at the office for the home team on Wednesday following the gallops from the day before, the Hong Kong corner was not much of a hive of activity either, except for Southern Legend changing things up by coming out on the turf track.
Under trainer Caspar Fownes’ watchful eyes, last year’s Kranji Mile winner followed the same blueprint as last year’s routine by stepping out on the main course proper on the same day, but only for a stretch while doing evens around the surface he will race on in three days’ time.
It was still Groundhog Day for his fellow Hong Kong raider Singapore Sling, though. As has been the trend since his arrival on Saturday, the Tony Millard-trained challenger has kept to the Polytrack, not going quicker than a slow canter.
The connections of the South African-bred had made it clear from the outset that the workload would be kept light as they had already done their fast work back home.
It’s therefore wind-down mode for all 10 runners at the halfway point, even if Singapore Sling may spark things up a little with a wind-opener on Thursday. Months of preparation have almost come to an end, and now it’ll be down to the barrier Gods on Thursday afternoon and the jockeys on Saturday.
Singapore Sling (HK) – Tony Millard
Slow canter over 2000m on the Polytrack (Track 2) with track rider Cheung Hiu Ming up.
“He again did 1 ½ laps on the Poly,” said Beverly Millard, Tony Millard’s wife.
“His blood is good, but we’ll check it again this afternoon before he opens up a little tomorrow morning.
“His weight goes up and down. Like back in January, it was 1073 pounds, then it dropped to 1060 pounds in February and it’s gone up to 1082 pounds at his last run – so it’s always been within the 1070-1089 pound range.
“It’s not the be-all and end-all, anyway. Back in South Africa, we never weighed our horses, we just went with our eyes. To me, he looks good, is happy; he loves his chaff and is always interested in his food.”
Southern Legend (HK) – Caspar Fownes
Trot down Track 4 under work rider Edward Leung before switching to the turf track (Track 1) for one lap of canter, and back down Track 6 to cool down at a slow canter.
“It was a last-minute decision to go on turf. We’ve got to mix and match,” said trainer Caspar Fownes just before he headed to the airport to catch his Hong Kong flight to be at the Happy Valley races on Wednesday night.
“He’s happy. He was like a happy camper out there.
“He just cantered one lap on the grass track. Edward said he went well, it was a bit like game on the moment he went on grass, he wanted to go.
“He did a mile on grass and he cooled down over 1000m down the back.
“Tomorrow, he will return on the Polytrack and just do some light work again. I’m happy with what I’ve seen and I’ll be back to see him work again on Friday.”
Team Singapore
There is not much to highlight from the home team. Most of them either walked (King Louis, Preditor and Makanani) or swam (Debt Collector, Blizzard and War Affair), with only Elite Excalibur and Countofmontecristo getting a saddle on – trot and canter on the uphill track.
Blizzard (SG) – Lee Freedman
Went for a swim.
Countofmontecristo (SG) – Michael Clements
Trotted and cantered on uphill track.
Debt Collector & Elite Excalibur (SG) – Cliff Brown
Debt Collector swam while Elite Excalibur trotted and cantered on the uphill track.
King Louis (SG) – Ricardo Le Grange
Hand-walked around stables.
Makanani (SG) – Hideyuki Takaoka
Hand-walked around the stables.
Preditor (SG) – Shane Baertschiger
Rolled and walked.
War Affair (SG) – Bruce Marsh
Went for a swim.
