Stormy Liberal works clockwise for Hong Kong Sprint
RACE REPLAY IS NOT AVAILABLE
DEL MAR, Calif. – Toward the end of regular training hours Thursday at San Luis Rey Downs, Stormy Liberal, the winner of the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint, stepped onto the track and worked. It would have been unexceptional, except for one thing: the direction in which he traveled.
Stormy Liberal went a half-mile turning to the right – going clockwise – the opposite of how races are run here, but in preparation for what is next for him: a trip to Hong Kong for a 1,200-meter (about six-furlong) race at Sha Tin, where the one turn is to the right. The drill was timed in 49.20 seconds.
“They gave us permission to work the wrong way,” said Peter Miller, who trains Stormy Liberal. “It’s one of the nice things about being at a small facility like that. He handled the turn, hit his leads right on cue.”
The Hong Kong Sprint, worth $18.5 million Hong Kong – about $2.4 million U.S. – is one of four prestigious races run at Sha Tin on Dec. 10. Miller said Stormy Liberal is scheduled to work twice more at San Luis Rey Downs, both times turning right, before leaving for Hong Kong on approximately Dec. 1.
“He might have one work there,” Miller said.
