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| Sumita Pawar |
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As the end of his first full season in Hong Kong approaches, former Sydney premiership winning jockey Brenton Avdulla is thoroughly enjoying his time there and doesn't have any plans to leave just yet. This season, he has ridden 26 winners from 351 rides with an impressive success rate of 13.5%, which includes his victory aboard California Spangle in the prestigious Group One Queen's Silver Jubilee Cup.
He will be riding California Spangle again in the upcoming Group One Chairman's Sprint Prize at Sha Tin on Sunday. Avdulla landed the ride on California Spangle, trained by Tony Cruz, with the Group One Hong Kong Mile winner out of form. He has made the most of this opportunity and went on to win the Group One Al Quoz Sprint in Dubai in his last race.
"It's worked out really well; this time last year I was still based in Sydney and you're watching horses like Golden Sixty and California Spangle from afar, but to be here twelve months later riding one of them, it's a big thrill," Avdulla said.
"To win a Group One over 1400 [metres] on him here and then get the call up to ride him over there [in Dubai] was a big thrill. Never did I think in my first season in Hong Kong I'd link up with a horse like him and win a couple of Group Ones… he's been a pretty good horse to me already, so we'll see what we can do this weekend."
Avdulla Remains Confident Despite Rainy Weather Conditions
Avdulla expressed that he had uncertain expectations regarding his success when he first arrived in Hong Kong. However, he is now confident that his new banner horse will help him secure his 16th win at the highest level this weekend, even if the track is affected by rain.
"I don't think the rain's going to dampen his chances too much. He handled a little bit of cut out when he won the 1400 hundred [metres], so he's just got to break cleanly. I'll ride him to his strength which is to sustain a gallop."
"I think if he holds his form he's the one to beat… his 1200 [metre] record is very good. I think he's only been beaten once and that was a close second… I think if he's there in good form and brings what he has in his last two, I'm sure he can be a good chance."
In the upcoming Chairman's Sprint Prize, California Spangle has been listed as the top favourite with odds of US$3.40. The horse is set to jump from barrier number seven in a field of eleven.
Tony Cruz, the trainer of California Spangle, has expressed his concern about the challenging spring weather in Hong Kong, rather than the barrier position, ahead of the HK$22 million Gr.1 Chairman's Sprint Prize. California Spangle has won his last two starts at the highest level, including the Gr.1 Al Quoz Sprint in Dubai over 1200 meters. Cruz has no issue with the barrier seven assigned to California Spangle in the 11-horse field, but he is apprehensive about the horse's ability to handle wet tracks, as he has never raced on one before.
Cruz, who has one runner in each of the three feature races, is confident about the Sha Tin surface drying out significantly for Sunday's racing. He also believes that California Spangle and Victor The Winner are probably the two fastest front-runners in the race, but they will be challenged by Mad Cool, who won the Gr.1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen on a rain-soaked Chukyo Racecourse in Japan at his last start.
Cruz praised California Spangle's sprinting and miling abilities and believes that the horse's natural speed makes him an excellent sprinter-miler. He also rates Mad Cool as the biggest challenge, despite drawing out in barrier 11. In the FWD QEII Cup, Cruz believes that Five G Patch has been an unlucky horse in his past runs this season and has a good chance of winning. He also feels that Beauty Joy is a strong contender in the FWD Champions Mile.