Any doubts about Lucky Nine's form were obliterated by an early morning track gallop that had Caspar Fownes' jaw hitting the floor and the trainer raring for a rematch with arch-nemesis Lord Kanaloa in the Longines Hong Kong Sprint on Sunday.
Lucky Nine is returning to his home ground after one of the worst runs of his career in Australia and will head into the race he won two years ago after a piece of work that also left jockey Brett Prebble stunned.
One of the first horses out on the all-weather track yesterday morning, Lucky Nine followed a stablemate and gradually picked up speed through a solid first 800-metre section before setting the straight alight with a stunning 21.8-second final 400m burst.
"It was sub 22 and Brett was hanging off him. It was exciting work," Fownes said.
"When I looked at the watch, and then how easily he was doing it, my jaw dropped. I thought "uh oh" … you hope you haven't done too much, but he did it so emphatically. It's okay if they are doing it with their own will and it's not as if the jockey was pushing him."
Prebble said: "It was outstanding, that was the only way I can describe it. He was still on the bridle, so I'd hate to think what he could have run if I'd let him go.
"I was meant to run 24 seconds the last quarter, but he did it so easily. I thought maybe he had run 23, but he is deceiving. He had one to follow, but when I came out behind him, I thought 'whoops, he's gone'.
"The sprint was just instant, he just dropped him and he was on his own all the way up the straight," Prebble said.
Lucky Nine pulled up sore after a disappointing sixth when favourite in the VRC Sprint Classic at Flemington just under a month ago, but was cleared to resume work upon arriving home.
Fownes' usual pattern has been to trial Lucky Nine before a big race, but the trainer said the rising seven-year-old had improved so rapidly in the past few weeks that it was not required.
"He is done now. He is ready to rock'n'roll, and we keep our fingers crossed for a nice draw," Fownes said.
Both Fownes and Prebble noted that Lucky Nine looked superb in the coat after a two-run campaign Down Under, which included an unlucky second in the Group One Manikato Stakes at Moonee Valley.
"He looks amazing," Prebble said. "He normally takes a while to come to hand, but he is really glowing."
Lucky Nine has had excuses when facing nominal race favourite Lord Kanaloa twice previously, with the Japanese sensation winning both times. Lucky Nine missed the start in last year's Sprinters Stakes in Japan and was taken back from gate 12 in the 2012 Hong Kong Sprint.
"We just want a level go at Lord Kanaloa, who is a star as well," Fownes said. "We just need a good draw and a good jump off. He has been breaking well at the start lately, so hopefully that continues."
