All eyes will be on the showdown between local star Fairy King Prawn and New Zealand's champion mare Sunline in the Hong Kong Mile, but connections of Australian challenger Testa Rossa are optimistic of upsetting the big two in Sunday's race.
The Dean Lawson-trained four-year-old, who arrived from Australia on Monday, looked in good shape yesterday as he was given a gentle canter on the all-weather at Sha Tin, ahead of a final serious workout tomorrow.
He may be less well known than his illustrious rivals, but he certainly has all the right credentials. He is second top-rated for the Mile at 120 on the international scale, 3lb behind Sunline but the same margin ahead of Fairy King Prawn.
And he comes into the race in top form, having scored his sixth Group One win in the Emirates Stakes at Flemington, Melbourne, last month. He had fellow Mile contender Adam 4.5 lengths back in sixth in that 1,600-metre race, having come with a devastating burst from last to first in the straight.
Testa Rossa will also be racing over his ideal distance on Sunday, whereas both Sunline and Fairy King Prawn will be attempting different trips from those they raced over at last year's International meeting. On that occasion, Fairy King Prawn ran away with the Sprint, while Sunline trailed home a disappointing seventh behind Jim And Tonic in the Hong Kong Cup over 2,000 metres.
Lawson's horse could finish only sixth behind Sunline in the Cox Plate, Australia's premier weight-for-age race, but that was over 2,000 metres, and connections are confident of turning the tables over a mile.
Owner John Cappelin, for whom Testa Rossa will be a first International runner, said yesterday: 'If the race was over 2,000 metres, I'd be more worried about Sunline. But Testa Rossa has a lot of speed and all his Group One wins have come between 1,000 and 1,600 metres, whereas Sunline prefers a longer trip.'