Rebel Dane ready to go ahead of Group 1 Hong Kong Sprint

SUPERSTAR Australian sprinter Rebel Dane has touched down in Hong Kong ahead of its 22nd group 1 race in the highly-competitive Hong Kong Sprint.

The multiple group 1-winning horse has not been seen in a race since shocking the Australian racing community to take out the Manikato Stakes back in late October where it saluted as a $61 outsider.

Speaking on Monday, Rebel Dane’s trainer Gary Protelli believes his horse’s chances lie in its ability to acclimatise.

“[He travelled] really well. I’ve just spoken to my foreman, they got in about 9.30pm [AEDST] last night,” Portelli said.

“By the time they got to the stables it was close to midnight – so a long day for them.

“Today will be an interesting day, he’s got to get over the flight and settle in. The first 24 hours is always critical.”

A win on Sunday would hand the seven-year-old the third group 1 win of his career after taking out this year’s Manikato and saluting in the 2013 Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes.

Portelli said the hard work has been done in Australia, which means Rebel Dane will not be pushed too hard on the track prior to the Hong Kong Sprint.

“We’ve done everything we need to do at track-work. He doesn’t need any more gallops.

“That was the good part about flying up later – we were able to do all our work at home, now we just have to get him acclimatised, trotting and cantering.

“Ben Melham’s up there already, he’ll be trotting and cantering him tomorrow [Tuesday].

“He’ll have an easy day today, go for a walk and familiarise himself.

“He’ll have an easy week, we’ll keep him fresh and ready to explode on Sunday hopefully.”

Sportsbet.com.au has Rebel Dane as a $16 outsider for Sunday’s $3.21 million Hong Kong Sprint.

Hong Kong Jockey Club presenting live webcasts of track-work ahead of the international series

Punters who are looking to get a glimpse of their favourite horses ahead of the Hong Kong International Series will get the opportunity to witness the track-work ahead of the big four group 1 races at Sha Tin on Sunday.

Starting on Wednesday, the HKJC will be presenting three days of track-work webcasts live for local and international racing fans the last chance to see their horses in action ahead of the four group 1 races kicking off this weekend.

The live casts will be available on the Club’s Hong Kong International Races site at approximately 11:30am (AEDST) on Wednesday 7 December, Thursday 8 December and Friday 9 December.

Punters who also have an interest in what alleys the horses will jump from have the ability to watch barrier draw ceremony at 3pm (AEDST) on Thursday 8 December.

Those without the ability to watch any of the races can follow the same link on Sunday to watch all four group 1 races from Kong Kong.

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