HK APR 7 - PACKING WHIZ SCORES FIRST-UP FOR FOWNES

By Hong Kong Jockey Club | Monday, April 8, 2013

Packing Whiz fired a howitzer of a warning shot towards potential G1 Champions Mile rivals with an emphatic victory in the HKG2 Chairman’s Trophy (1600m) at Sha Tin yesterday.

In what was his first start for trainer Caspar Fownes since transferring from the John Moore stable at the start of February, the five-year-old delivered a flawless display to score by a length and a half from the Moore-trained Dan Excel in a time of 1m 34.50s, with Pure Champion a further length and a quarter third.

“It’s nice to see him win like that first time for the yard and we’ll aim him at the Champions’ Mile next. It’s an exciting effort first-up and exciting for the yard and we’ll look forward to taking on Glorious Days in the Mile – we didn’t really open him up there,” said Fownes of the gelding, who won the G3 Italian 2,000 Guineas two years ago and has long been considered a G1 performer in the making.

After settling at the tail behind a steady pace, Packing Whiz crept into contention as the field swung for home and when an opening appeared halfway down the home stretch, the hitherto motionless Brett Prebble shook the reins to unleash a telling burst of speed.

“We’ve got him off a top trainer in John who’s a star in Hong Kong, so it’s just nice to take that,” continued Fownes. “He has internal issues and he bled (had blood in the trachea) on his last start for John but he’s come back nicely. He’s pleased me in his coat because he’s normally a dull looking horse.

“He doesn’t show a lot in the mornings – he’s a gentleman on the track and just does his own thing. He doesn’t give you any inkling that he’s a Group 1 performer but I love horses like that, as long as they can bring efforts like that on race days it is perfect – if they look after themselves in the morning it’s even better.”

The G1 Champions Mile is the second of Hong Kong’s two spring international highlights and takes place on Sunday, May 5 at Sha Tin Racecourse, one week after the G1 Audemars Piguet Queen Elizabeth II Cup (2000m).

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