Now Hayes will seek Thrills abroad

All Thrills Too set the ball rolling for the home team with a scintillating victory in the Hong Kong Sprint which left trainer David Hayes eyeing more international glory on foreign shores. In a race dominated by the Hong Kong speedsters, All Thrills Too recovered from mid-race difficulty to run out a convincing 1.5-length winner in a fast time of 56.4 seconds. Firebolt chased him home for a Hong Kong quinella and the home team also had Thunder in fourth place. Australia's Falvelon, winner of the race for the past two years, was the only foreign raider to put any pressure on the Hong Kong runners and wound up third. 'This is fantastic - it doesn't get any better than this,' Hayes said in the immediate aftermath of victory, as unaware as everyone else of the drama which would unfold over the next three hours. 'I must have had 20 runners in the International Races in the past and most of them have bombed out. Some of them have run well, like All Thrills Too when he was third last year, but I've had to watch from afar with green eyes as the foreign horses came and took the money. It's nice to keep some here for once.' Hayes is now looking to grab some money back for Hong Kong by sending All Thrills Too abroad - either for the Dubai Golden Shaheen on dirt in March or the Golden Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot on turf in June, both over a straight 1,200 metres. 'I have been looking at the Dubai race, but we've also received an invitation for Royal Ascot and I'm leaning towards that race,' Hayes said. 'England is the home of racing and it's always been a dream of mine to race a horse there. 'The straight at Ascot would be perfect for him and we would have every chance of getting fast ground for him at that time of year. The other bonus is that we could race him all the way through the Hong Kong season before going to Ascot.' The Golden Jubilee, which was lifted to Group One status this year and was won by late Sprint scratching Malhub, will be held on June 21 next year, the day before the end of the Hong Kong season. 'We won't go to Dubai and England - I think one international trip will be enough for this season,' Hayes added. 'I wanted him to prove he could do it here first and now I'll talk to the owner about where we should go. The attraction with Dubai is that the prize-money is bigger, but it will be tougher because it's on dirt.' All Thrills Too will be a top-line contender wherever he lines up after yesterday's demolition of a field which included Japan's top two sprinters, a high-class quartet from Europe including a dual Group One winner, and a two-pronged Australian challenge led by Falvelon. The pace was set by Mistegic, Australia's other runner, with Firebolt also in the front rank and All Thrills Too just behind. Gerald Mosse had to get to work on All Thrills Too just after the intersection but the horse responded readily inside the final 200 metres to put the issue beyond doubt. 'I was confident before the race, but that is a trait of mine,' Hayes added. 'I was a bit worried about the 500 metres when All Thrills Too dropped the bit, but then he picked up and ran on really well.' Mosse, who has jumped on board All Thrills Too in his blossoming partnership with Hayes, has won plenty of international Group One races around the world but was delighted to score one for his adopted homeland. 'He's one of the best sprinters I've ever ridden and I thought he was the best in the race,' the Frenchman said. 'I just had to get him relaxed and I had a dream run with great cover in midfield. He is normally a bit keen but he was quiet today, almost too quiet, and at the 400 metres I was harder at him earlier than I wanted. But he gave me 100 per cent when I asked him.' Firebolt, fifth to All Thrills Too in last month's International Sprint Trial, got closer this time to run a gallant second. 'He ran a good race, but it helped All Thrills Too that Mosse was able to track my horse and attack us,' trainer Ivan Allan said. 'All credit to the winner, he was the best horse on the day, but we'll be back.' Tony Cruz was also thinking ahead after Thunder ran a cracker to finish fourth on only his second start in Hong Kong. Cruz only got the go-ahead to run on Saturday morning following Malhub's withdrawal but said he had been confident of a bold showing. 'I was disappointed not to get into the race in the first place because this has been his main objective since he arrived,' he said. 'I have high expectations of him, he will keep improving, and we'll be back for this race next year.' In contrast to Hong Kong, there was disappointment for Japan as their highly rated sprinters flopped for the second year in a row, with Shonan Kampf 10th and Believe 12th of 14 runners. 'The horse got a good break, but he ran too freely for the first 600 metres and there was nothing left at the end of the race,' said Shonan Kampf's jockey, Shinji Fujita, while Believe's trainer, Shigeki Matsumoto, said: 'She was just disappointing and I don't know why.' The reason for the poor runs of the Europeans was more obvious as connections of 11th-placed Agnetha, Slap Shot (13th) and Continent (last) all blamed a long season for their failure to get into the race. Only the French-trained Zipping justified the long journey by finishing fifth.