BUFFERING, AMBITIOUS DRAGON and CIRRUS DES AIGLES

BUFFERING – The LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint (Group 1)

Race 5, Sha Tin Racecourse, Sunday, 14 December 2014

Dr Peter Curl, Executive Manager, Veterinary Regulation, has this morning advised that an examination of BUFFERING has found that horse to be suitable to race in the LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint tomorrow.

AMBITIOUS DRAGON – The LONGINES Hong Kong Mile (Group 1)

Race 7, Sha Tin Racecourse, Sunday, 14 December 2014

The Club’s Veterinary Regulation Department has this morning advised that an examination of AMBITIOUS DRAGON has found that horse to be moderately lame in the right front foot.

AMBITIOUS DRAGON will again be examined tomorrow morning at which time a decision will be made as to the horse’s suitability to race in the LONGINES Hong Kong Mile.

A further press release will be issued following that examination.

CIRRUS DES AIGLES – The LONGINES Hong Kong Cup (Group 1)

Race 8, Sha Tin Racecourse, Sunday, 14 December 2014

The Club’s Veterinary Regulation Department has this morning advised that an examination of CIRRUS DES AIGLES has found that horse to be moderately lame in the left front foot.

CIRRUS DES AIGLES will again be examined tomorrow morning at which time a decision will be made as to the horse’s suitability to race in the LONGINES Hong Kong Cup.

A further press release will be issued following that examination.

 

AMBITIOUS DRAGON aims to prove the fire still burns in LONGINES Hong Kong Mile

It is two years since AMBITIOUS DRAGON engaged his famous afterburners in the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Mile and announced himself to the world as a miler of considerable merit. Two years is a long time in racing though, and even longer when that includes 18 months out of the spotlight.

That is how long AMBITIOUS DRAGON was absent from the racetrack after the G1 QEII Cup of April, 2013. Hong Kong’s two-time Horse of the Year showed signs of wear and tear to his near fore tendon after that run, but with appropriate care he returned to work in August that year to prep for a defence of his LONGINES Hong Kong Mile crown. He never made it to December’s race – just as the Pins gelding was gearing up for his seasonal reappearance he suffered a core lesion to a near fore tendon. AMBITIOUS DRAGON missed that entire term and only returned to the fray this past October.

Things changed in the time he was away recuperating at Beas River. GLORIOUS DAYS and GOLD-FUN fought out the 2013 LONGINES Hong Kong Mile, with the former winning and the latter claiming the Hong Kong Champion Miler garland at season’s end. And a new star emerged, a challenger to AMBITIOUS DRAGON’s title of Champion and his status as crowd favourite, the powerhouse ABLE FRIEND.

In the meantime, trainer Tony Millard and his team have nursed the former champion back from injury. Now, after a highly promising comeback third in the HKG2 Sha Tin Trophy (1600m) on 26 October, and a solid third to ABLE FRIEND in the G2 Jockey Club Mile three weeks ago, the eight-year-old will attempt to regain his title.

But things are rarely simple. Two years ago team Millard had an anxious eve of race drama as their star was found to be lame. A night of patient care and lots of walking loosened the gelding sufficiently to take his chance in the race. The rest is history. This year, drama struck again when AMBITIOUS DRAGON was found to have a foot abscess on Tuesday morning. Millard is confident all is okay with one day to go.    

“I’m happy that he’s in the right spot – workwise he’s there,” said the South African. “I’m satisfied that we’ve done enough work with him. I’ve done all my checks on him and I’m confident that he’ll perform. Time is everything and we’ve got time. We’re sitting in a better position than we were two years ago!”

‘The Dragon’ clocked 52.5s for 800m (29s, 23.5s) on Monday, his final gallop prior to the foot issue. He returned to trotting on Wednesday and Thursday, and was out on the track for a final piece of work this morning under his regular rider, the trainer’s wife Beverley.

“We were happy with his work this morning, he did two laps and came back and we trotted him up,” said Millard. “He trotted pretty good after the work, so I’m pretty hopeful. We’ll change the shoe tomorrow and then we’ll get a final go-ahead, it looks pretty positive now.

“Beverley was particularly happy with his work this morning. He did a flying change and nothing was worrying him at all. It’s one of those things, it’s a pain in the butt, but it’s not anything like a ligament. We’ve got to be realistic, and once the horse gets in the race and the blood’s going, he’s going to go for it. He’s a very willing horse.”

To add further drama to the tale, later this morning, Hong Kong Jockey Club vets examined AMBITIOUS DRAGON and found him to be moderately lame in his right front foot. All now hinges on Sunday’s vet check.

ABLE FRIEND is many people’s idea of Hong Kong’s banker at tomorrow’s LONGINES Hong Kong International Races, but if AMBITIOUS DRAGON does line up, and if he can call upon the prodigious ability of his glory days, the young heir apparent might find the old champ gunning for him down the Sha Tin stretch.

 

LUCKY NINE and MILITARY ATTACK in great shape for LONGINES HKIR

Caspar Fownes has LUCKY NINE and MILITARY ATTACK in fine order heading into the HK$83 million LONGINES Hong Kong International Races on Sunday, and the trainer is expecting big runs from his two stable standouts.

LUCKY NINE hit traffic problems last start when fifth in the G2 Jockey Club Sprint over 1200m at Sha Tin and Fownes is hoping for a clear run as LUCKY NINE bids for a second win in the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint (1200m). The seven-year-old won the race in 2011.

“LUCKY NINE is very well. I’m really happy with him,” said Fownes. “Obviously, on paper it’s a very competitive race. There’s not much between the sprinters but there never is here in Hong Kong. You always hope you’ll get out in clear running and he’ll get his chance. I’m sure he’ll be close because he’s very well. He doesn’t look like a horse that’s turning eight!

“The overseas runners being here will probably inject a bit of pace into it,” he continued. “A couple of the horses drawn out wide will likely go forward and inject that speed into the race, and it will just be nice to see everyone get their chance and see who the best horse is on the day.

“That’s what we want to see – who the best sprinter is. Hopefully we can get ‘Lucky’ to number one in the world before we think about retiring him. He’s still got a bit of life in the old legs yet!”

MILITARY ATTACK, Hong Kong’s Horse of the Year in 2012/2013, is aiming to regain his place at the head of the table with victory in the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup (2000m). He goes into the race off a two-race prep. He followed a first-up win in the HKG2 Sha Tin Trophy (1600m) on 26 October with a head second to the re-opposing BLAZING SPEED in the G2 LONGINES Jockey Club Cup (2000m) three weeks ago.

“MILITARY ATTACK is drawn awkwardly (gate 8) but it’s another race that looks to be very open,” said Fownes. “He’s going to get his chance and he’s going to run well. Let’s hope he’s good enough on the day. I’m happy with how he’s come on from his last start – I’ve set him for this race so he should be spot on.”

 

Evergreen RED CADEAUX and ‘CIRRUS’ return to the fray at LONGINES HKIR

World racing’s ‘warhorses’ RED CADEAUX and CIRRUS DES AIGLES will yet again grace Sha Tin’s international stage on Sunday and it would be only the brave or foolish who would blithely discount the chances of these two evergreen, resilient and talented gallopers.

Each is soon to turn nine years of age but recent performances indicate that age has not dulled them out of Sunday contention and nor is retirement necessarily imminent for the duo whose exploits have earned them the admiration of racing enthusiasts world-wide.

 

 

“They’ve both been wonderful horses,” said RED CADEAUX’s trainer Ed Dunlop, “Red (Cadeaux) just keeps performing year in and year out and CIRRUS DES AIGLES is a legend. We saw him come back to England this summer and run away with the Coronation Cup. He’s taken on the best in the world now over four or five years.”

The Corine Barande-Barbe trained CIRRUS DES AIGLES boasts a remarkable 21 wins and a further 20 seconds from his 60 starts – most of which have been at the top level. He’s beaten the likes of Treve, Flintshire, So You Think and St Nicholas Abbey and run second behind luminaries including Frankel, Gentildonna, Sarafina and Goldikova.

RED CADEAUX has won fewer races but finished first three at more than 50 per cent of 47 career starts and ‘won’ both notoriety and great affection in defeat – with three second placings in Melbourne Cups and beating all bar Animal Kingdom in a Dubai World Cup. “They should give him a silver version of the gold Melbourne Cup trophy,” Dunlop said with a smile.

RED CADEAUX is one up on CIRRUS DES AIGLES when it comes to Hong Kong. He’s tasted the sweetness of victory. This year he contests the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Vase (2400m) for the fourth time, having won in 2012 and finished third and fourth either side of that year. He’s been out of the money just once in seven starts in Hong Kong and Australia where he thrives.

In contrast, French hero CIRRUS DES AIGLES has had mixed fortunes in Hong Kong. This is his sixth trip and, on Sunday, he will compete for the fifth time. His best finish was his brave third to Akeed Mofeed in last year’s edition of the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup (2000m).

“The longevity of these horses and their like is remarkable,” said Dunlop. “RED CADEAUX has now travelled some 250,000 kilometres and raced 77 miles and still he keeps going. That’s a credit to people like Robin (Trevor-Jones) and Steve (Nicholson).

“He’s an eight-year-old with big, flat feet and he’s always taken some maintenance. So, at this stage of his career, it’s one race at a time. So we’ll see what happens. The options are to head back to Dubai or Australia next year. He does keep surprising us. He wasn’t good after the Tenno Sho this year when the ground was too firm and he had red rings around his feet from the soreness.

“But he bounced back and ran very well at Newbury; then threw us a bit with his poor run on the Poly at Kempton but there he was again running a huge race in the (Melbourne) Cup at Flemington. As to Sunday, well he’s very fresh and very well in himself and when he’s like that he normally runs well,” Dunlop said.

Barande-Barbe describes CIRRUS DES AIGLES as her ‘magic carpet’ as the horse has taken her all round the world and she believes age has not yet caught up with him.

“We haven’t  changed our routine with him because of what you guys call ‘old age’,” Barande-Barbe told the press after the horse worked on Thursday morning, “You were already saying he was ancient three years ago! Believe me, he’s young at heart, truly, and being an eight-year-old doesn’t seem to affect him. Anyway, he’s born on May 8th, so he’s six months away from his ninth birthday.”

Any racing almanac will probably not include RED CADEAUX and CIRRUS DES AIGLES among its list of champions. But they’ve been, at the very least, outstanding racehorses and entitled to even greater recognition than they’ve had. Perhaps victory on Sunday for either could edge them closer to a higher accolade.

 

fonte : HKJC