LUCKY SWEYNESSE MAKES A BIG STATEMENT

By Darren Winningham | Monday, May 1, 2023

Earlier in the week Zac Purton said at the press conference, “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” when summing up the chances of Lucky Sweynesse in the lead up to the Chairman’s Sprint Prize (Group 1).

Well after his demolition of an impressive international field it appears he wanted to get back to the races and show how great he really is!

He went into the race with two Group 1 victories this season. The Manfred Man charge collected a HK$5 million bonus prize money for successfully completing the third leg of Hong Kong’s three-race Speed Series – the first horse to complete this since Silent Witness who did it last in 2004/05.

He won HK$11.4 million and a bonus of HK$5 million. A massive pay day for the local owners who were celebrating on the track at the official presentations.

Purton said after the race, “it was just a matter of whether he could get out of the gates and get himself into a nice position and to his credit, he begun really well today but obviously had Wellington and Sight Success holding their spot inside me going into the first corner and trying to make me do a little bit of work so I was worried doing the next bit of work on him might be a telling factor but this horse just continues to get better.”

As he entered the straight – he lengthened and put pave to the opposition – the local crowd roaring seeing their world class sprinter win so easily, stopping the clock at 1:08.38.

Purton was excited after the win telling the press, “I feel like we're going to see a better horse again next season.”

He went on to praise the new Hong Kong sprinting champion disclosing. “He is very unassuming and once he gets out of the gates, you can ride him anywhere. Inside, outside,” Purton said. “He is versatile in his races, he can come from back in the field, he’s led, he’s stalked the leader. He is such a lovely horse, and he is very laid back, and he conserves his energy for races.”

Manfred Man was reserved after the race telling the throng of press present, “I think, at this moment, we are thinking about 1200m or 1400m distance,” Man said. “One mile is still a concern, the distance. We are still thinking. I need to discuss it with the owner first. When we make the decision, we will tell everybody.”

The trips to Japan for the Yasuda Kinen in June over a mile appear to be on the back burner for now. However, a trip to Sydney for the rich sprint race The Everest over 1200 metres seems to be more likely.

Wherever he does race next over 1200 metres he will be super competitive – it would be a wonderful advertisement for Hong Kong racing if he could compete overseas and be successful.

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