Prebble rapt with Ain't Here
Brett Prebble gave his Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Cup mount an enthusiastic thumbs up after piloting the big Dehere gelding in a major workout on the turf course at Sha Tin yesterday morning.
Ain't Here, explosive winner of the International Cup Trial in his last start, indicated he has made even further progress with an impressive 1,200 metres in one minute and 20 seconds, the last 400 metres in 22.4 seconds.
Prebble, who has forged a strong association with the Australian private purchase, praised the way trainer David Hayes has handled Ain't Here's preparation.
'David is a proven trainer at the top level, he knows what is required to win these big races, and he could not have this horse any better,' Prebble said. 'He definitely feels better to me now than he did in the cup trial. He's just continued to improve. He relaxed beautifully in the early stages, but came up the straight very strongly - he felt enormous,' he said.
Hayes said the gallop was Ain't Here's final major workout. 'This morning's gallop was just what I wanted,' he said.
Champion Silent Witness had a quiet morning of cantering after a solid 800m gallop on the all-weather track on Sunday morning.
Under race rider Felix Coetzee, the unbeaten star ran in company with stablemate Celestial Steel, clocking 50.7 seconds, the last 400m in 22.9.
Cup favourite Rakti is ready to give lie to his last-start failure in Japan, where he became upset before the Kyoto Mile Championship and missed the start badly. Last year's cup runner-up, behind champion Falbrav, Rakti ran 1,200m on Friday morning in 1:20.8, the final 400 metres in 23 seconds.
The big horse won over Jockey Club commentator and Racing Post tipster Mark Richards.
'It's a long time since I've been that impressed by a track gallop,' Richards said. 'He came down the straight, running time, but the rider never let him go at any stage. And when he pulled up, I paid close attention - he's so fit, he wouldn't have blown a candle out.'
Rakti had another spin yesterday morning, bowling over 1,200m just inside even time, clocking 1:26.9 for the journey.
With an international rating of 124, Rakti is the highest-rated entry for this year's Hong Kong International Races.
