Japanese trainer Yasuo Ikee yesterday sent a shiver through his Hong Kong Vase rivals by declaring Stay Gold was 'better than he was in Dubai' for his final appearance before retirement on Sunday.
The seven-year-old stunned the powerful Godolphin stable in Dubai last March when he caught Fantastic Light to win the Dubai Sheema Classic but Ikee said yesterday he had no doubt the stayer was in superior form for his swansong.
'When Stay Gold went to Dubai, he did so much more travelling,' Ikee said. 'The transport took a full day, 24 hours, and Stay Gold lost quite a lot of weight. It was a little bit surprising he was able to run so well after that. But coming to Hong Kong has been much easier - the travelling time for us has only been 10 hours and he arrived in very good condition and has trained well.'
Ikee was still not fazed when Stay Gold drew the outside of the 14 barriers in the 2,400-metre event. 'Actually, I am very happy. The outside barrier is an advantage for him and I did not want him to draw close inside,' Ikee said. 'Stay Gold has a tendency to run to the left in his races, and recently at Kyoto he won a race but was disqualified because he did this and interfered with another runner on the outside. I am sure Stay Gold is going to race well in his last race.'
Surprisingly, Ikee nominated American stayer White Heart as his most feared rival, despite Stay Gold having beaten him easily in the Japan Cup just three weeks ago. 'I think he is the horse to beat because he did not have any luck in the Japan Cup,' he said. 'I think you can overlook that race. It is his turn for some luck and he will be dangerous on Sunday.'
Eishin Preston's trainer, Shuji Kitahashi, reacted in almost the opposite manner to Ikee when his Hong Kong Mile runner drew wide in barrier 13. 'I am very disappointed,' he said. 'Eishin Preston is not a leader in his races, but he does like to be close behind the leaders. From that starting position, he is going to have to work very hard and it will be difficult for him to get into a tracking position.'