John Size seeks first Sha Tin Vase with quality quintet
DURING his 16-year tenure as a top flight trainer in Hong Kong, John Size has failed to win the Group 3 Sha Tin Vase, but he has a high chance of changing that this Sunday.
Size brings five runners into the sprinting feature at Sha Tin and the sheer weight of numbers has put him into a powerful position to grab the prize.
Size sends out half of the 10-horse field with Group 2 Sprint Cup winner Mr Stunning being the pick of the bunch. Also joining Mr Stunning will be Amazing Kids, Thewizardofoz, Sun Jewellery and D B Pin.
“Most of these horses have had a tough year,” Size said. “They have had a long season so some horses might be a little bit tired, some horses might have had enough.
“It is a good test for them, so we will see what holds up.”
Mr Stunning is currently the highest-rated sprinter in Hong Kong, but Size believes Sunday will be a big test with the four-year-old conceding up to 20 pounds to some of its rivals.
“On paper, the highly-weighted horses look disadvantaged when you first look at a handicap like that, but they’ve got the record – they are group one horses and they have earned that mark,” Size said.
“In a handicap, they can still be competitive, but it isn’t easy. Mr Stunning is probably going to go back in the field from his wide draw and just have the last run at them – hopefully the race can be won by a horse from off the pace.”
Mr Stunning was an unlucky runner in the Group 1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize when charging home behind Lucky Bubbles and champion jockey Joao Moreira will take the ride again.
“I think if he had a perfect run, he might have won, but races aren’t always run perfectly for you,” Size explained.
“I think he beat himself, in one respect – he was having a look at the horse beside him (Not Listenin’tome) when he was finishing the race off so that probably cost him the win.”
Size suggested Thewizardofoz, which will be ridden by Australian jockey Chad Schofield, could have its best chance to secure a feature win.
“He has been good, ‘The Wizard’,” Size said. “He improved for his first start this preparation and he improved again after his second start.
“He’s going up in rating now. I think he’s got a good chance of winning the race, but he will need a little bit of luck.
“He’s going to be fifth or sixth and he’s got to get out of there on straightening. His progress has been very good, and I’m very happy with him.”
The popular horseman also thinks stablemates Sun Jewellery and Amazing Kids, with the former having struggled with wind problems this season.
“Amazing Kids raced well last time, it was his first run after Dubai and came a month after so he could have improved on it,” Size said.
“Sun Jewellery has been struggling with a wind issue but at 1200m he ran very well last start. He’s got a better gate this time so he’ll probably be midfield on the rail, getting a very sweet run.
“He should have plenty of energy to finish the race.”
D B Pin is set to be named this season’s Most Improved Horse after going from rating 56 to 108 after five wins, the latest coming by 3.25 lengths.
“He hasn’t raced for a while, he’s had a couple of trials,” Size said. “He is a lower grade of horse than Mr Stunning at this point, so he will need that handicap advantage to be competitive.”