Aussie team for Internationals

[jrb]

Looks a pretty thin line up from Australia this year, apart from the Sprint, where we have 4 hopefuls - Falvelon - a genuine chance again, Mistegic - no hope on his form this Spring, Century Kid - won well on Saturday, and ran creditably in last year's Sprint, and Belle du Jour - only an emergency and would need to improve.
The only other likely Australian aspirant is Scenic Peak in the Mile - no hope.
A shame our ranks are so threadbare at 1600m and above.

[imaufo]

Jack Petley, Australian representative of the Hong Kong Jockey Club, said yesterday that Australia could have four runners at the Hong Kong invitation meeting on December 15.
Defending champion Falvelon will again contest the Hong Kong Sprint, and will probably be favourite.
Damien Oliver, who resumes riding at Ascot on Saturday, will ride Falvelon after contesting a world jockeys championship in Japan on November 30 and December 1.
http://www.ausracing.net.au/images/newpics/small/sfalvelon6.jpg
He will be joined by Sydney sprinter Mistegic and Saturday's Sandown winner Century Kid.
Century Kid's trainer, Graeme Rogerson, confirmed yesterday that the five-year-old had been inoculated and would run in the Hong Kong Sprint, in which he finished fourth last year.
Century Kid, fourth behind Falvelon in Hong Kong last year, enhanced his chances of selection by winning Saturday's Kevin Heffernan Stakes at Sandown.
Century Kid, who is now a winner in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria, finished a bold fourth in last year's Hong Kong Sprint behind Queensland sprinter Falvelon.
"He really didn't have a lot of luck in last year's race," Ian Lewis, stable manger for Graeme Rogerson, said yesterday. "He sort of rolled back to the fence, into some inferior ground and that may have been costly."
"He's earnt a trip to Hong Kong, that's for certain, and the way he's racing, he's certain to be the horse to beat."
Century Kid ($3.50) missed the start yesterday, then had to circle the field, but still managed to hold off Suit ($11) by a length. Belle Du Jour ($2.80 fav) was third.
The Tony McEvoy-trained sprinter North Boy, second favourite at $3.20, failed to run on and finished last.
The win by Century Kid landed a winning double for Rogerson, who earlier scored with Prime Century in the Carlton Draught Handicap.
The fourth contender in Hong Kong will be Scenic Peak, who decisively won the group one Emirates Stakes at Flemington last Saturday week.
Scenic Peak and Mistegic will both be ridden by Danny Nikolic, the most successful jockey over the four days of the Flemington spring carnival.
New Zealand trainer Bruce Marsh, who on Saturday won the Sandown Classic with Hail, is planning to move to Australia and is seeking boxes at Caulfield.
Marsh rode Silver Knight to victory in the 1971 Melbourne Cup.
Jack Petley, local scout for the Hong Kong Jockey Club, blamed hard tracks and general wear and tear for our light Hong Kong hand.
"It's all taken its toll," he said.
"Rain Gauge and North Boy were going to go but both horses are tired. With horses like Prized Gem and Sunline retired, it's meant a very light representation."
Trainer Danny Bougoure said Scenic Peak and Falvelon were in perfect order to fly the flag, despite a flight hiccup.
"I wanted to supervise their build-up up here in Brisbane where I could keep an eye on them but I couldn't get a flight back from Melbourne for them," Bougure said.
He instead floated the pair from Flemington to Mornington.
"It's a pain in the neck but they're both doing well down there. Falvelon's going every bit as well as he was last year and Scenic Peak is flying," he said.
"They've been to the beach two or three times and they're not stabled far from the Mornington racetrack, where they have access to the course proper."
Bougoure said Brisbane's more balmy climate would have better acclimatised his horses for Hong Kong.
STRATEGIC Image is expected to breeze through a gallop at Caulfield this morning, his final serious hitout before travelling to Perth for Saturday's $500,000 Railway Stakes (1600m) at Ascot.
It will be grieving jockey Damien Oliver's first ride since the funeral of his brother Jason the day after the Melbourne Cup. Trainer Peter Moody said he expected Strategic Image to book his flight to Perth with a good workout today.

[cheesebeast]

They've arrived

http://www.hongkongjockeyclub.com/english/news/images/20021204falvelon.jpg

Falvelon

http://www.hongkongjockeyclub.com/english/news/images/20021204mistegic.jpg

Mistegic

http://www.hongkongjockeyclub.com/english/news/images/20021204scenicpeak.jpg

Scenic Peak - strapper looks quite fit

[imaufo]

December 13 2002




Three horses and two trainers will fly the Australian flag at Sunday's massive International meeting. John Schell reports on how things are shaping up.


Having overcome the shock of Hong Kong's "engineering perfection", Sydney trainer Lee Curtis is ready to take the racing world by storm.

A far cry from his Rosehill base, Curtis has had time to acclimatise to the racing heaven of the former British colony and is intent on showing the world what his star sprinter Mistegic can do in Sunday's Hong Kong Sprint at Sha Tin.

"It's a different planet over here," Curtis said on Thursday. "The way the place is put together, it really is engineering perfection. It's unbelievable."

Mistegic has already taken Curtis on a rapid ride to the top, the sprinter winning the group1 $1million Galaxy at Randwick last autumn in his biggest triumph.

"Having a horse good enough, like Mistegic, is what has brought me to Hong Kong. I have the horse to thank for getting me here to experience what a marvellous set-up they have," Curtis said.


Being holed up in the middle of high-rise buildings isn't a concern for the brigade of new arrivals tackling Hong Kong's stars at Sunday's International meeting.

"The facilities are first class and the service magnificent," Curtis said. "It basically comes down to the horse travelling well over here. Once they get here they are well looked after."

Along with Queenslander Danny Bougoure, Curtis is flying the Australian flag at Sha Tin. The pair will start Mistegic and Falvelon in the Sprint, and Bougoure has Scenic Peak in the Mile.

Having trained Falvelon to win the past two Sprints, Bougoure knows what it takes.

"Danny has helped me out with a few tips when I've asked him but he's not volunteering information to me," Curtis said. "Danny seems to have the key to winning in Hong Kong. His record with Falvelon speaks for itself and his horses look sensational. They've thrived since arriving."

Bougoure is confident he can complete the Sprint hat-trick on Sunday.

"He's ticking along very nicely," he said of Falvelon. "He's starting to fire up a bit, kicking and bucking, which is a good sign. He let one rip at [track rider] Alan [Russell] the other morning and got him right in the ribs, which Alan wasn't happy about but it tells me the horse is bursting to race.

"Alan and I have a pretty good handle as to when this horse is at his best, and we both reckon he's in great shape."

While Falvelon drew barrier one, with Mistegic drawing gate four in the Sprint, Scenic Peak came up with the outside alley of 13 in the Mile.

"I couldn't be happier with him. He thrives in the company of Falvelon and he's done really well up here," Bougoure said after Scenic Peak had a leisurely workout on Thursday morning.

"He does have the advantage of being versatile. We can ride him on the speed or he can take a sit. Doesn't really matter either way, so that's a plus. When you're competing at this level, I think it's fairly safe to say that the speed will be good. They aren't going to dawdle, and the pace was right on all the way when he won the Emirates at Flemington."

Curtis, meanwhile, said Mistegic had "improved out of sight" since settling in Hong Kong. "It's been a snowball effect. He has done better and better every day," he said.

"The horse is off his tree right now."

Curtis isn't suffering from a bout of over-confidence, however.

"Sure, it'll be hard on Sunday, for every runner in the four big races," he admitted. "There's such a fine line. You'll see horses that have won $2m in prizemoney running last in these races, they are that competitive."

And even though Falvelon has the score on the board in Hong Kong, Curtis sounded a warning.

"Mistegic will be cherry ripe on Sunday, so Falvelon will want to be looking over his shoulder. We're not here for a haircut, we're here to win the race we came for."

[Handy Harry]

Former Herald racing writer Rod Dufficy has spent the past decade in Hong Kong as a professional punter. He sees value everywhere on International day.

http://www.smh.com.au/ffxImage/urlpicture_id_1039656222142_2002/12/13/spt_racing021214,0.jpg

Impressive: Japanese star Eishen Preston looms as a party spoiler for Australia in the Hong Kong Sprint. ( didnt know he was entered for the sprint? lol)


It's on again. Hong Kong's international race day has rapidly grown into one of the best meetings in the world. Having witnessed the stunning transformation, one can say the days of receiving an all-expenses-paid trip here if you had even a handy horse are over.

Sunday's meeting is now the final leg of the lucrative Emirates World Series and your horse must be among the elite to gain an invitation to the $14 million extravaganza.

Last year, the Japanese juggernaut zeroed in on the meeting and plucked three of the four group 1 races, with Eishen Preston emerging as a world-class thoroughbred. He is back and can win again.

International Day was the brainchild of Major General Guy Watkins, former chief executive of the then Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club. Following the Hong Kong handover in 1997, Winfried Englebrecht-Bresges, the director of racing for the club, has taken it to a new level.

And don't think the spectacle is all about Sha Tin on Sunday. The International Jockeys' Challenge around the tight Happy Valley circuit under lights on the preceding Wednesday night is now part of a great week of racing in the gambling-mad city.


South African-born Hong Kong champion Douglas Whyte's experience at Happy Valley came to the fore when defeating German ace Andy Suborics last Wednesday. The line-up included renowned riders Frankie Dettori, Mick Kinane, Olivier Peslier, Damien Oliver, Shane Dye, Kieren Fallon et al.

The lure of huge prizemoney and Hong Kong's location make this international meeting a place where reputations are forged and careers heightened.

The Hong Kong International Cup is the final leg of the Emirates World Series. Godolphin's Grandera already has an unassailable lead in it, though comfort is drawn from the fact our own warrior, Northerly, accounted for Grandera in this year's Cox Plate, which is also a world series leg.

What a mouth-watering race the cup would have been had Northerly won or run second in the Japan Cup, then turned up in Hong Kong where another clash with Grandera would have settled the world series.

Grandera may well be favourite on Sunday but no good thing. Certainly not with Eishen Preston lining up. The Asian whirlwind stormed home to win the Hong Kong Mile last year. Doubts about running a strong 2,000m were dispelled by winning the Queen Elizabeth at Sha Tin this year.

Unbeaten in Hong Kong, Eishen Preston should be vying for favouritism, for mine. And don't leave out Sarafan from the US. A group1 winner in America, Sarafan is coming off a narrow second in the Japan Cup.

Australia is well represented in the sprint with the likes of Falvelon and Mistegic. Although Falvelon has won the past two runnings, I'm not entirely comfortable he is in the same form as last year.

Yet I am confident the David Hayes-trained local All Thrills Too has his measure. The horse has never been in better form and dominated winning his two lead-ups against good opposition.

The telling factor is that a slender margin separated the pair last year and All Thrills Too is on the up. Forget the European sprinters, they aren't good enough. Considering the presence of Falvelon and Mistegic, All Thrills Too is going to be at healthy odds on the NSW TAB.

In the HK Mile, John Size supporters will be taking unders about Electric Unicorn but it's hard to knock the horse.

His two lead-up runs have been first class under crushing weights, and he is suited returning to level weights.

And let's not forget Electronic Unicorn's brave second to Eishen Preston in last year's Mile.

Despite being only a four-year-old, the Godolphin-trained Noverre seems to have been around for an eternity, racing in at least five countries in his past 12 starts.

A consistent performer since his two-year-old days, this is his swansong.

My only concern with Noverre is that he generally finds one better. Again the Japanese must be respected, with Admire Cozzene a live prospect.

A rising seven-year-old, Admire Cozzene has had only 22 starts. He was crowned champion two-year-old in 1998 and since then has battled injury and form lapses, but never has he raced better than now.

This year he won the Yasuda Kinen 1600m - Japan's version of the Doncaster - and if he fires he is the one to beat.

The other Japanese raider, Tokai Point, is also a major player. Last month he won Japan's group1 Mile championship, defeating Eishen Preston. Need I say more?

Gamble against Falvelon's stablemate Scenic Peak in the Mile. He'll be way under the odds.

If French filly Aquarelliste has settled in well, the International Vase is over.

The daughter of Danehill will bolt in. A multiple group1 winner, she was a courageous second behind Sakhee in last year's Arc de Triomphe. The only concern is fillies have trouble adjusting to Hong Kong's climate.

TIPS: Sprint - All Thrills Too, Believe, Shonan Kampf. Vase - Aquarelliste, Falcon Flight, Ekraar. Mile - Electronic Unicorn, Tokai Point, Admire Cozzene. Cup - Eishen Preston, Grandera, Sarafan.