Premiere streaking into Bauhinia Sprint Trophy
RACE REPLAY IS NOT AVAILABLE
The fleet 4-year-old Premiere will try to win his fourth race in a row Sunday at Sha Tin Racecourse when he faces seven foes in the Group 3, $383,670 Bauhinia Sprint Trophy Handicap.
The Bauhinia Sprint is contested on Sha Tin’s straight course over 1,000 meters, or about five furlongs, and Premiere loves the trip. His perfect record this Hong Kong season is composed of three 1,000-meter wins, two at Sha Tin and one at Happy Valley, where Premiere also won three such races in a row last season.
Karis Teetan rides Premiere for trainer John Size, but Joao Moreira has the mount on a second Size runner, House of Fun. House of Fun has tried 1,200-meter races around a turn more often than this shorter straight-course race, but he was a troubled second behind Premiere on Nov. 26 and won over the trip last season at Sha Tin. House of Fun carries 114 pounds, Premiere 115 as the Size-trained pair is separated by just one point in official ratings.
Dropping in class is Notlistenin’tome, who was 10th last out in the Group 1 Hong Kong Sprint and has not shown his best form this season. Notlistenin’tome also is more proven over 1,200 meters, but he rallied for second in the 2017 Bauhinia Trophy.
Archippus has been racing in Class 2 handicaps for 13 starts but is in career-best form and earned a step up to this Group 3 with a strong-closing win last out at Happy Valley.
The Bauhinia Trophy is the seventh of 10 races Sunday, with post time scheduled for 4:16 a.m. Eastern.
Time Warp might be Dubai bound
Time Warp, who wired the Group 1 Hong Kong Cup, on Friday had his first barrier trial (training race) since that Dec. 10 win and is on course to make his next start in the Group 1 Stewards Cup on Jan. 28 at Sha Tin, trainer Tony Cruz said.
Cruz then intends to run Time Warp in the Feb. 25 Hong Kong Gold Cup before shipping him to Dubai for either the $6 million Dubai Turf over nine furlongs or the $6 million Sheema Classic over 12 furlongs. Both races are part of the Dubai World Cup on March 31.
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