Al Ain gets mind back on business ahead of Queen Elizabeth II Cup

HONG KONG – Al Ain, the Japanese Grade 1 winner, had a somewhat routine training session at Sha Tin Racecourse in Hong Kong on Saturday. After his antics on Thursday, a quiet day was considered progress in his preparation for Sunday’s Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup.

On Thursday, Al Ain was out of the quarantine stable for nearly an hour for a training session that could be politely described as a debacle. He was reluctant to gallop on several occasions – first on the exterior turf course and later on the infield dirt track.

After those mishaps, Al Ain was taken back on the turf course and had two slow half-mile workouts though the stretch. After Al Ain completed one breeze, he was jogged back up the track and did it again. The second workout was timed in 54.8 seconds, with quarter-mile splits of 26.6 seconds and 28.2.

His reluctance to train was a surprise, trainer Yasutoshi Ikee said through an interpreter.

“As far as stopping on the track, that’s the first time he’s shown that,” Ikee said on Thursday.

“In regards to the results of the track work, though, I’m happy with the work. He accomplished what we wanted in terms of the speed and the amount of work he needed, so eventually it was a success.”

On Friday, Al Ain was schooled in the paddock. On Saturday, he galloped two circuits on the dirt track.

Ikee stressed on Thursday that Al Ain has not displayed such behavior while training or racing in Japan.

“You have to remember that these are unfamiliar surroundings,” he said. “In Japan, he works with other horses around him, so today was the first time that he was out galloping by himself.”

The $3.059 million Queen Elizabeth II Cup is the second-richest race on the Hong Kong calendar, behind only the $3.187 million Hong Kong Cup in December.

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