LUCKY SWEYNESSE LOOKING TO EXTEND HIS IMPRESSIVE WINNING SEQUENCE IN THE FWD CHAIRMAN'S SPRINT

By Darren Winningham | Friday, April 28, 2023

Lucky Sweynesse was defeated in the LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint in December by Wellington who he meets again Sunday in the FWD Chairman’s Sprint (Group 1).

Since then, he has won his past four starts showing continual improvement.

He has been up since September 2022. It has seen him post six wins in his eight starts this preparation. Manfred Man trains the horse and has strategically spaced his runs out for the extended preparation racing him once a month.

In the media conference held at Sha Tin on Thursday morning jockey Zac Purton raised concerns with the recent manners of Lucky Sweynesse on the track in his work.

He went on to say that he rode him on the track on Thursday, “One thing he has done in his last two gallops that he has not done all season is that he has been a bit keen. I am not sure if I am a bit concerned about that or whether he is just ready to go back to the races.”

“He has had a long season and he has been pulling a little bit in his trackwork, so I’m not sure if he’s just gone over the top a little bit or not, but all the other signs he’s giving me are that he's still in his best form.

“His mannerisms in the morning and the fact he’s had a long season does pose some type of question, but he’s been unbelievably consistent all season and he’s just continued to get better as the season’s gone on.”

Just maybe there is a chink in the armour come Sunday.

Purton is very impressed with the four-year-old gelding floating the idea of a crack at The Everest at Randwick later in the year saying, “In the past few months, he’s certainly taken a big leap and I feel like he’s going to take another one. I still don’t think we’ve seen the best of him yet.”

If he cannot get the job done for Hong Kong it may see the other local Wellington claim his third successive FWD Chairman’s Sprint Prize!

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