Lucky Sweynesse dazzles in Jockey Club Sprint

[Wandering Eyes]

Lucky Sweynesse has lead home a New Zealand bred trifecta with a highly impressive come-from-behind victory in Sunday’s HK$5 million Gr.2 BOCHK Private Banking Jockey Club Sprint (1200m) at Sha Tin.

Last season’s Hong Kong Champion Griffin, Lucky Sweynesse, a son of Novara Park stallion Sweynesse, clocked 1m 07.55s – only fractionally slower than Sacred Kingdom’s 1m 07.50s – in notching his seventh win at his tenth start for jubilant trainer Manfred Man and all-conquering jockey Zac Purton.

Allowed to settle midfield after jumping from barrier 11, Lucky Sweynesse stalked the favourite Wellington before spearing clear over the final 200m to defeat Pierre Ng-trained pair Lucky Patch (a son of El Roca) and Duke Wai (a son of Per Incanto).

“Obviously, he’s done it tough from awkward gates this time in but behind the gates I saw six jockeys trotting their horses up and they’ve all got speed and I knew it was going to be a bit messy,” Purton said.

“He didn’t begin that great and I didn’t have any option but to take the spot I got, which worked out well with the way the race was run. Master Eight got in my way a little bit, just prior to straightening, but I just tried to straighten him and it cost me a little bit of ground as I swung around him.

“I thought it was a soft win. He’s done a good job, he’s a horse on the way up.”

Declaring the four-year-old as the best horse he has ever trained, Manfred Man also lauded Purton’s ride.

Apart from earning HK$2.85 million for the win, Lucky Sweynesse also collected a Top-Up Bonus of HK$500,000 for his owners. The four-year-old will now take aim at the Gr.1 Hong Kong Sprint (1200m) next month.

Lucky Sweynesse was sold at the New Zealand Bloodstock Ready To Run Sale out of Woburn Farm’s 2020 draft for $90,000 to Joe Barnes’ J & I Bloodstock and is the second foal out of Listed Wanganui Cup winner Madonna Mia.

The gelding was a six length trial winner at Ellerlsie out of Shelley Hale’s Cambridge stable before transferring to Hong Kong.

Sweynesse, whose progeny sold up to $210,000 at last week’s New Zealand Bloodstock Ready To Run Sale, is represented by 16 yearlings at next year’s New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sales (5 Book 1 and 11 Book 2).

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