2:40 P.M. HK TIME (2.10.2011) Sprinters Stakes (Group 1) S1-1 3:40 P.M. LOCAL TIME 7th Leg of Global Sprint Challenge (2.10.2011) Nakayama Racecourse - Turf Track - 1200 Metres (Right-handed) For 3 years old and upwards. Weights: 3yo 121lb; 4yo+ 126lb. Allowances: fillies and mares about 4.4lb; Southern Hemisphere bred foaled in 2008 about 2.2lb. Total Prize Money (JPY) ¥197,600,000 1st ¥95,000,000, 2nd ¥38,000,000, 3rd ¥24,000,000, 4th ¥14,000,000, 5th ¥9,500,000, 6th ¥6,650,000, 7th ¥5,700,000, 8th ¥4,750,000. (16 Starters) Overseas Expert Column by Naohiro Goda Both LUCKY NINE and GREEN BIRDIE ran as well as I expected in the G2 Centaur Stakes at Hanshin on 11 September. Both came out of the race well and moved from Hanshin to Nakayama Racecourse on 14 September. It was an uneventful trip even though it took nine hours and five minutes by horse van, and they have settled very well in the barn area at Nakayama Racecourse. LUCKY NINE, second in the Centaur Stakes, and GREEN BIRDIE, who was demoted from 4th in the same race to 14th in the stewards’ room, were lightly breezed for 800m on the grass course at Nakayama on 23 September. They were given another breeze on the same course on 27 September. Both Hong Kong raiders look to be happy and are enjoying their time in Japan, and I believe they are ready to produce their best form on 2 October. I reckon the quality of the sprint division is very high in Hong Kong, and Hong Kong sprinters are very fast in general. A rare sprinter who is even faster and stronger than Hong Kong horses, however, is ROCKET MAN from Singapore. The winner of 17 races from 21 starts he has an official rating of 125, which makes him the second highest rated sprinter in the world, surpassed only by the Australian super mare BLACK CAVIAR on 130. This ultra-consistent gelding has finished either first or second in all his starts, and has now extended to five a winning streak which includes the G1 Golden Shaheen at Meydan in March and the G1 KrisFlyer International Sprint at Kranji in May. The six-year-old arrived at Shiroi Racing School, the quarantine facility near Narita Airport, on 17 September after a 14 hour journey from his home, and is reported to have settled well. He completed the quarantine period on 23 September and moved to Nakayama Racecourse where he has been keeping fit. As long as he is in top form, my first choice for Sunday can only be ROCKET MAN. The most impressive performance in the G2 Centaur Stakes came from DASHER GO GO, a 4-yo colt by SAKURA BAKUSHIN O. I wrote in the analysis before the Centaur Stakes that I understood that race was just to prep DASHER GO GO for the Sprinters Stakes, and in fact that’s what it was. He also looked in the parade ring beforehand as though he needed that run. Nevertheless, the winner of three Graded Stakes ran on strongly in the straight to finish third, carrying 128 lb, although as a three-year-old he’d carried only 121 lb when winning the Centaur Stakes in 2010. I am convinced he is a much better horse now than he was a year ago, and I believe DASHER GO GO should have the best chance of the 15 horses who prepped in the Centaur Stakes. The rising star of the sprint division in Japan is CURREN CHAN, a 4-yo filly by KUROFUNE. The winner of the G3 Hakodate Sprint Stakes and the G3 Keeneland Cup had every chance of becoming the Summer Sprint Champion, a title which carries a prize of 50,000,000 yen if she had run in the G2 Centaur Stakes. However, she skipped the race and was given a short break instead to freshen her up for the Sprinters Stakes. She has been training very well, and I believe she has a good chance of finishing in the frame. SELECTIONS: ROCKET MAN, DASHER GO GO, LUCKY NINE, GREEN BIRDIE & CURREN CHAN - 8 - Japanese Tipsters' Selections First Choice Second Choice Others（in random order） Keiba Book Matsumoto 5 Rocket Man 8 Dasher Go Go 6 San Carlo Yoshida 16 Green Birdie 5 Rocket Man 10 Curren Chan Tamura 6 San Carlo 1 Lucky Nine 8 Dasher Go Go Hayashi 5 Rocket Man 16 Green Birdie 6 San Carlo Yoshioka 8 Dasher Go Go 5 Rocket Man 10 Curren Chan Gallop (weekly racing magazine) Monguchi 10 Curren Chan 5 Rocket Man 6 San Carlo 8 Dasher Go Go 13 B B Guldan 1 Lucky Nine Hoshi 8 Dasher Go Go 1 Lucky Nine 14 A Shin Virgo 4 A Shin Rigil 10 Curren Chan 16 Green Birdie 6 San Carlo 7 Fifth Petal Mukonoki 5 Rocket Man 8 Dasher Go Go 14 A Shin Virgo 4 A Shin Rigil 16 Green Birdie 6 San Carlo 13 B B Guldan 7 Fifth Petal 1 Lucky Nine Yoshida 1 Lucky Nine 5 Rocket Man 14 A Shin Virgo 4 A Shin Rigil 10 Curren Chan 16 Green Birdie 6 San Carlo 7 Fifth Petal Wada 5 Rocket Man 1 Lucky Nine 12 Urbanity 14 A Shin Virgo 10 Curren Chan 16 Green Birdie 6 San Carlo 13 B B Guldan 7 Fifth Petal Chunichi Sports Kusano 8 Dasher Go Go 5 Rocket Man 16 Green Birdie 13 B B Guldan 1 Lucky Nine Masami 1 Lucky Nine 5 Rocket Man 14 A Shin Virgo 8 Dasher Go Go Hanaoka 6 San Carlo 5 Rocket Man 10 Curren Chan 16 Green Birdie 3 Pas de Trois 13 B B Guldan 1 Lucky Nine Sakai 3 Pas de Trois 16 Green Birdie 14 A Shin Virgo 6 San Carlo 8 Dasher Go Go 13 B B Guldan 1 Lucky Nine Yonai 16 Green Birdie 5 Rocket Man 14 A Shin Virgo 6 San Carlo 8 Dasher Go Go 1 Lucky Nine Nomura 5 Rocket Man 8 Dasher Go Go 14 A Shin Virgo 6 San Carlo 13 B B Guldan 1 Lucky Nine Sankei Sports Morita 7 Fifth Petal 5 Rocket Man 14 A Shin Virgo 6 San Carlo 13 B B Guldan 1 Lucky Nine Kataoka 5 Rocket Man 8 Dasher Go Go 10 Curren Chan 2 Keiai Aston 3 Pas de Trois 7 Fifth Petal 1 Lucky Nine Itatsu 8 Dasher Go Go 5 Rocket Man 14 A Shin Virgo 4 A Shin Rigil 6 San Carlo 1 Lucky Nine Shibata 5 Rocket Man 7 Fifth Petal 8 Dasher Go Go 3 Pas de Trois 13 B B Guldan 1 Lucky Nine Kato 5 Rocket Man 10 Curren Chan 1 Lucky Nine 7 Fifth Petal 13 B B Guldan 16 Green Birdie Daily Sports Based on Data 8 Dasher Go Go 1 Lucky Nine 14 A Shin Virgo 16 Green Birdie 6 San Carlo 5 Rocket Man Based on Training 14 A Shin Virgo 8 Dasher Go Go 10 Curren Chan 16 Green Birdie 13 B B Guldan 7 Fifth Petal Based on Reports 5 Rocket Man 8 Dasher Go Go 14 A Shin Virgo 16 Green Birdie 6 San Carlo 7 Fifth Petal 1 Lucky Nine Nakae 13 B B Guldan 5 Rocket Man 10 Curren Chan 16 Green Birdie 8 Dasher Go Go Murakami 6 San Carlo 5 Rocket Man 14 A Shin Virgo 4 A Shin Rigil 10 Curren Chan Sports Nippon Terashita 5 Rocket Man 6 San Carlo 1 Lucky Nine 8 Dasher Go Go 10 Curren Chan 14 A Shin Virgo Umezaki 5 Rocket Man 10 Curren Chan 13 B B Guldan 1 Lucky Nine Tanimoto 8 Dasher Go Go 5 Rocket Man 10 Curren Chan 16 Green Birdie 6 San Carlo 13 B B Guldan Moriya 5 Rocket Man 8 Dasher Go Go - 9 - 天久 方嘉柏 (香港) 126 柏寶 (1) Lifetime : 18 (7-6-3) Turf : 14 (6-4-2) Jumps : 0 (0-0-0) 1 2011 : 5 (1-3-1) Non-Turf : 4 (1-2-1) GF+ : 4 (1-2-0) LUCKY NINE (IRE) 4 b g C Fownes (HK) (Int'l Rtg 117) B Prebble 1st Up : － Dist : 11 (4-4-1) G : 10 (5-2-2) Dubawi (IRE) - Birjand (GB) (Green Desert (USA)) Earnings : HK$15,276,324 Track : 0 (0-0-0) Y : 0 (0-0-0) (5/1) Owner(s): Dr Chang Fuk To & Maria Chang Lee Ming Shum Trk/Dist : 0 (0-0-0) S/Hvy : 0 (0-0-0) Pos Date Race Details Track Dist/Course/Going Wt. Jockey Dr Race Sectional Time Race Time Pos in Running Finish & Odds Gear Winner/Second/Third Margin 1/12 23Jan11 Mercedes-Benz HK Classic Mile ST, HK 1600 RH G 126 B Prebble 4 24.42 23.27 23.58 22.98 1.34.25 4 5 3 1 1.3 1.6F Lucky Nine (IRE) 126 4yo Xtension (IRE) 126 HK-G1 HKD6,000,000 Treasure Lands (GB) 126 2/12 20Feb11 Mercedes-Benz HK Classic Cup ST, HK 1800 RH G 126 B Prebble 8 21.97 23.72 24.42 23.81 1.48.03 5 5 3 2 1.8 1.7F Ambitious Dragon (NZ) 126 4yo Lucky Nine (IRE) 126 HK-G1 HKD6,000,000 Let Me Handle It (NZ 126 3/10 6Mar11 Queen's Silver Jubilee 3yo+ ST, HK 1400 RH G 126 B Prebble 2 13.72 21.80 23.31 22.91 1.21.74 3 4 4 3 0.5 1.7F Beauty Flash (NZ) 126 HK-G1 HKD6,000,000 Sunny King (IRE) 126 Lucky Nine (IRE) 126 2/14 25Apr11 BMW Champions Mile 3yo+ ST, HK 1600 RH GF 126 B Prebble 9 25.30 23.50 23.64 22.27 1.34.71 3 4 3 2 0.5 4.1F Xtension (IRE) 126 G1 HKD12,000,000 Lucky Nine (IRE) 126 Musir (AUS) 126 2/15 11Sep11 Centaur S.