Japan Or Australia On Radar For Lucky

Established as the top-rated sprinter in the world in 2023, Lucky Sweynesse joined the elite with a runaway victory in the HK$20 million Gr1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize in Sha Tin on Sunday in Sha Tin.

The four-year-old continued his rise to stardom, closer to his ambitious path of potentially competing in elite races in Japan or Australia in the coming months with a devastating display of power and speed, sliding in the final 400m in 22.26 S

The Manfred Man-trained four-year-old, who went into Sunday’s race with two Gr1 wins this season, also received a HK$5 million bonus for successfully completing Stage 3 of the three-race Hong Kong Speed ​​Series .

Only three other horses – Mr Vitality (1995/96), Grand Delight (2002/03) and the legendary Silent Witness (2003/04 & 2004/05) – had previously annexed the Speed ​​Series.

Lucky Sweynesse was forced to work hard early in the race when he came out a little wider than Zac Purton would have liked and left no doubt about his superiority over the other seven runners as he led the race by three and a half lengths, to justify its red-hot entry-level price.

Lucky Sweynesse’s share of the HK$20 million first place prize was HK$11.4 million, giving the gelding a total winnings check of HK$16.4 million for the day and adding another accolade to the sprinting sensation.

It was Purton’s first win in the race since Ivictory in 2018 and his fifth overall FWD Champions Day G1 win, while Lucky Sweynesse delivered the first FWD Champions Day G1 winner for Man.

Purton said the sky is the limit for Lucky Sweynesse now and believes the gelding will continue to get better.

“That’s what we were hoping to see today and it was just a matter of whether he could get out of the gates and put himself in a good position and to his credit he started really well today but obviously had Wellington and Sight Success who kept Spot in me as I went into the first corner and tried to get myself to do a bit of work so I was worried that next work on him might be a telling factor but this horse just keeps getting better,” Purton said.

“I have the feeling that next season we will see a better horse again. The sky is the limit right now.”

Purton stated that Lucky Sweynesse was not like any other sprinter he had ridden, saying he was not explosive and did not ride like a normal, willing sprinter.

“He’s very humble and once he comes out of the gates you can ride him anywhere. Inside, outside,” Purton said. “He’s versatile in his races, he can get out of the field, he’s been leading, he’s been chasing the leader.

“He’s such a lovely horse and he’s very relaxed and saves his energy for racing.”

When asked how special it was to win the race, Purton said: “They’re all special, they’re all different in their own way, horses are different, the connections are different and the journey to get here is different, so they all mean something a lot and of course this horse for Manfred at the end of his career and maybe the end of my career as well, this could be a suitable path for both of us.”

Lucky Sweynesse wasn’t the only Hong Kong horse in the race striving for glory in the 1200 meter race. Wellington, last season’s reigning Hong Kong sprint champion, was aiming to become just the second three-time winner of the Chairman’s Sprint Prize, having won the race in the past two years.

Wellington, ridden by Alexis Badel, finished third behind second-placed Courier Wonder, who was trained by John Size and ridden by Hugh Bowman.

England with Flaming Rib and Japan’s Aguri fell through in their bids to join Australia’s Gray Flash Chautauqua as the only raider to win the race in 2016 when it opened to international visitors.

The world now waves to Lucky Sweynesse, who is registered for the G1 Yasuda Kinen (1600 m) in Tokyo in June. Another option is to secure a place in the HK$77 million The Everest (1200m) at Randwick Racecourse in Sydney in October.

Lucky Sweynesse has not raced the 1400m and Purton admitted after the race he is unsure about the 1600m for the Speedster, but after race trainer Manfred Man, who is in the doldrums of his long training career, said he would Horses may be restricted to distances up to 1400m.

Manfred Man was noncommittal when discussing the future of Lucky Sweynesse, who could keel over at either Gr1 Yasuda Kinen (1600m) in Tokyo in June or Everest (1200m) in Sydney in October.

“I think right now we’re thinking about a distance of 1200 or 1400 meters,” Man said. “A mile is still an issue, distance.

“We are still thinking. I need to speak to the owner first. When we make the decision, we will tell everyone.”

He was said to be confident that Lucky Sweynesse would win.

“It’s something very special for me,” he said.