Super Satin says no to Singapore
Trainer Caspar Fownes has decided to bypass the Singapore International Airlines Cup with Hong Kong Derby winner Super Satin and instead will target the local Champions & Chater Cup at the end of the month.
The withdrawal of Super Satin leaves Hong Kong without a representative in the May 16 race, which is headlined by Dubai World Cup winner Gloria De Campeao and QE II Cup runners Lizard's Desire and Presvis.
'Super Satin won't be going to Singapore, but he's pulled up really well from his run in the QE II when he matched it with the best in the world,' Fownes said.
'We are not going to push him to get to Singapore this year, he has already done his job this preparation and it will give us more time to prepare for the Champions & Chater.'
Super Satin has amassed almost HK$14 million in prize money and taken his rating to 120, thanks largely to his Hong Kong Derby win and Queen Elizabeth II Cup third behind Viva Pataca last month.
Hong Kong has a strong team of challengers to Singaporean star Rocket Man in the KrisFlyer International Sprint, however, with Fownes confirming Green Birdie will be joining John Moore's Happy Zero and Derek Cruz's Joy And Fun on the aircraft to Singapore.
'Green Birdie ran a super race on Saturday and was only a bob away from winning the Sprint Cup,' Fownes said. 'I was confident he would beat home John Moore's two horses [Happy Zero and One World], but the way the race panned out he just couldn't quite nail the winner.
'He'll really give the KrisFlyer a shake-up in the form he is in.'
