Trainer Manfred Man has confirmed it’s all systems go for Lucky Sweynesse to tackle next month’s G1 Sprinters Stakes (1200m) in Nakayama after the four-time Group 1 winner’s planned return at Sha Tin on the opening day of the season.
Lucky Sweynesse will bid to follow in the footsteps of the great Silent Witness and Ultra Fantasy to become the third Hong Kong-trained winner of the Japanese Group 1, which takes place on September 28, after his reappearance in the HKSAR Chief Executive’s Cup (1200m) at Sha Tin three weeks before.
“He’ll be running on the opening day of the season and then he’ll be going to Japan,” Man told Idol Horse after Lucky Sweynesse returned for his first barrier trial of the campaign at Sha Tin on Friday morning.
“It’s exciting to be taking him to Japan. I’m not sure exactly when he’ll fly over, but we’ll make a plan a bit closer to the time.”
The seven-year-old was relaxed but visibly warm before the 1200m dirt trial and kept on in the final 200m under the urging of jockey Derek Leung to join the Ricky Yiu-trained Giant Leap on the line.
Leung, who partnered Lucky Sweynesse when the gelding ran on from the rear of the field to grab fourth in his latest outing in May’s G3 Sha Tin Vase (1200m), has secured the ride aboard the sprinter for the Chief Executive’s Cup and Sprinters Stakes.
While next month’s trip will be Lucky Sweynesse’s first overseas mission – Man opted against a Yasuda Kinen tilt in 2023 – it will mark Leung’s second time riding in Japan in 18 months, after he steered Victor The Winner to a third-place finish in the G1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen (1200m) at Chukyo last year.
“Of course, I’m very grateful to both the owner and trainer for the opportunity, but first we hope he can perform in the [Chief Executive’s Cup],” Leung said while hosing himself down on a stifling August morning at Sha Tin. “He felt good today. He’s still a bit fat and his fitness is definitely improving, so it was a nice effort.
“The weather has been bad the last few weeks so we haven’t had him doing any hard work, and that’s why he had a bit of a blow afterwards. But all in all, his action felt good and everything is improving. He’s a big horse so he needs a bit of hard work to get him fit.”
Lucky Sweynesse enjoyed a remarkable four-year-old campaign with eight wins from 10 starts before injury forced him onto the sidelines towards the end of the following season. He returned for two outings last term, where he finished sixth in April’s Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1200m) and fourth in the Sha Tin Vase.
While Man had already decided that the Sprinters Stakes was a good option for Lucky Sweynesse, the manner of Ka Ying Rising’s dazzling trial victory on Friday gave the impression that winning a race anywhere other than Sha Tin could be easier for Hong Kong’s premier sprinters this season.
David Hayes’ superstar limbered up for the Chief Executive’s Cup with an impressive display on the Sha Tin dirt. After jumping sharply, Ka Ying Rising travelled powerfully throughout under a motionless Zac Purton and stretched over 14 lengths clear of the rest of the field in the straight.
“You’d like to think he was going to do it easy against those horses,” Purton said after the trial. “He’s not fit so he’s not going to feel at his best at the moment and he’s going to improve from it. He was feeling it, which was good, and now he’s going to improve.
“You just want to see him come back nicely and he’s done that. That’s the first step, now we’ve got a long way to go.”
Ka Ying Rising will face Lucky Sweynesse on the first day of the season at Sha Tin before jetting off for the world’s richest race on turf, The Everest (1200m), which takes place at Randwick on October 18. ∎
