Absolute Champion sets new mark in Sprint

Absolute Champion was just that in the Sprint (Photo courtesy of Hong Kong Jockey Club) On a day defined by close finishes, Mr. & Mrs. Eddie Wong Ming Chak's ABSOLUTE CHAMPION (Marauding) separated himself from the pack, both literally and figuratively, with an easy 4 1/4-length win in the HK$12 million Hong Kong Sprint (HK-G1) on Sunday. With Brett Prebble in the saddle, the bay five-year-old finished the about six furlongs over Sha Tin's good-to-firm turf in 1:07.8, earning his third straight win and breaking the track record he set in October when taking the HSBC Premier Bowl (HK-G3). Content to settle in midpack while running three wide, Prebble bided his time aboard Absolute Champion as Natural Blitz (Maroof) and Desert Lord (Green Desert) battled it out through a quarter in :22.9 and a half in :44.7. The blistering pace took its toll on the front-running duo, though, and they started to back up as the rest of the field caught up coming around the turn. Slingshotting his way around the turn, Absolute Champion accelerated through on the outside and proceeded to run his rivals off their hooves. Gaining momentum with every stride, the bay gelding was easily the best as he crossed under the line in front of dual Sprint winner Silent Witness (El Moxie). "That was some performance," the jubilant Prebble exclaimed. "It was amazing. To win a race like this by over four lengths -- wow!" It was obvious that trainer David Hall agreed. "It would have been pretty hard to say that he could have improved after his last run when he broke the track record, but somehow he's done it," the conditioner said of Absolute Champion. "That's one of the most impressive wins that I've seen for a long time and it's sweet when it's your own."

Hall is no stranger to preparing horses for major races. The trainer won the

2003 Melbourne Cup (Aus-G1) with Australian sensation Makybe Diva and was also

in charge of Silent Witness before that one moved to race in Hong Kong.

Absolute Champion has now won three straight races, having also taken a Hong Kong

handicap in June, and captured the 2004 Pago Pago S. (Aus-G2) while racing in

Australia during the early part of his career. His record now stands at

25-6-2-3. Bred in Australia by J. W. Kelly, Suffolk Vale & Co., Absolute Champion is out of Beauty Belle (Ideal

Planet).

Silent Witness, Hong Kong's Horse of the Year and champion sprinter in 2005,

captured this event in 2003 and 2004. He gave a good showing here, but was

second best on this day under Felix Coetzee.

"He's run a great race, but he's found one too good," Coetzee said. "The

winner was a firecracker today."

It was another length back to third-place finisher Benbaun

(Stravinsky), who was followed under the line by Down Town (Scenic [Ire]), Sunny

Sing (Sri Pekan), Billet Express (Keltrice), Able Prince (Hurricane Sky),

Scintillation (Danehill), Red Oog (Brief Truce), She is Tosho (Sakura Bakushin

O), Natural Blitz, Desert Lord and Meisho Bowler (Taiki Shuttle), who refused to

take part.

As for Takeover Target (Celtic Swing), who would have gone off as the

favorite, his

saga finally came to an end on Sunday. After an initial sample taken from the

horse came back with an "irregularity," samples were taken on subsequent days

to see if the substance had exited the horse's system. The last sample taken the

morning of race day showed the substance, which was identified as

17-alpha-hydroxyprogesterone hexanoate, still present. Takeover Target was

scratched from the race by the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) Stewards as that

substance is prohibited by HKJC rules.