Zac Purton believes Prognosis\u2019 hopes of extending Japan\u2019s stunning recent run of success in the HK$25 million G1 FWD QEII Cup (2000m) at Sha Tin on Sunday (30 April) rests on the raider\u2019s capacity to relax and settle.<\/p>
Renowned for an occasionally fiery temperament, Prognosis possesses a lethal finishing kick with that powerhouse acceleration propelling the Deep Impact five-year-old to five victories from eight starts.<\/p>
Trained by Mitsumasa Nakauchida, Prognosis will chase a maiden Group 1 victory at the weekend under Purton, who has thoroughly researched the bay\u2019s racing habits and is aware of what can potentially go awry.<\/p>
\u201cHe\u2019s been plagued with a lot of injuries throughout his career and he\u2019s had a bit of a stop-start career but he\u2019s trained by a very good trainer and his last-start win (in the G2 Kinko Sho, 2000m at Chukyo) looked impressive,\u201d Purton said.<\/p>
\u201cFrom what I can gather, he can be quite a strong and eager-going horses so we need to hope – in a small field – that the speed is going to suit us and try and get him to relax.<\/p>
\u201cIt looks like he hasn\u2019t reached his full potential yet. He\u2019s on the way up. He\u2019s not the highest-rated (113) horse from Japan to come here so he\u2019s got a little bit to find on ratings but he looks like he\u2019s in good form and he could be a chance.\u201d<\/p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”19519″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” onclick=”link_image”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Near the tail of the field until straightening for home in the Kinko Sho, Prognosis was able conserve sufficient energy under Yuga Kawada to win comfortably but Sunday\u2019s seven-horse contest might present tactical issues for the visitor.<\/p>
\u201cHe looks like he\u2019s a bit of bolter, he wants to take off in everything that I\u2019ve seen and they\u2019ve made a concerted effort to try to get him to relax out of the gate and at times he\u2019s been three or four lengths behind the second-last horse just trying to get him switch off and even in those races he\u2019s still tried to grab the bit and wanting to go,\u201d Purton said.<\/p>
\u201cSo, his Achilles heel is his eagerness and I\u2019ve got to try to get him to relax otherwise he\u2019s not going to perform.\u201d<\/p>
Romantic Warrior will attempt to defend his FWD QEII Cup crown for Hong Kong, while Danon The Kid, Geraldina and Prognosis will push for Japan\u2019s fourth victory in the race in seven seasons after the triumphs of Neorealism (2017), Win Bright (2019) and Loves Only You (2021).<\/p>
Great Britain\u2019s Dubai Honour is also a leading chance while Tourbillon Diamond and Money Catcher complete Hong Kong\u2019s entry.<\/p>
Purton, who has four Champions Day Group 1 spoils to his credit, says while the QEII Cup boasts impressive depth.<\/p>
\u201cIt\u2019s not a one, two or three-horse race. It mightn\u2019t be a big field but there\u2019s a lot of quality in it. The other Japanese horse Geraldina looks like it\u2019s a solid chance as well,\u201d he said.<\/p>
Purton\u2019s other Group 1 hopes at the weekend are California Spangle in the HK$20 million FWD Champions Mile (1600m) and Lucky Sweynesse in the HK$20 million Chairman\u2019s Sprint Prize (1200m).<\/p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”19518″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” onclick=”link_image”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
The five-time Hong Kong champion jockey says Lucky Sweynesse is tracking strongly for a third Group 1 triumph and seventh win overall this season from nine starts.<\/p>
\u201cHe\u2019s had a really good season and he\u2019s been in great form recently and we know him well. He\u2019s continued to work well. He seems very happy in the mornings, so I\u2019m just hoping for a nice draw, hoping that he can jump well and get himself into the right spot and take care of the rest,\u201d Purton said.<\/p>
\u201cI wouldn\u2019t say he\u2019s improved. He\u2019s in his best form – he\u2019s been in his best form for a few runs now, it\u2019s just a matter of holding him together at the moment.\u201d<\/p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”19517″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” onclick=”link_image”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Zac Purton believes Prognosis\u2019 hopes of extending Japan\u2019s stunning recent run of success in the HK$25 million G1 FWD QEII Cup (2000m) at Sha Tin on Sunday (30 April) rests on the raider\u2019s capacity to relax and settle.Renowned for an occasionally fiery temperament, Prognosis possesses a lethal finishing kick with that… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":19525,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"2normal","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/champions-day\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19514"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/champions-day\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/champions-day\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/champions-day\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/champions-day\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19514"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/champions-day\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19514\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19600,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/champions-day\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19514\/revisions\/19600"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/champions-day\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19525"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/champions-day\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19514"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/champions-day\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19514"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/champions-day\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19514"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}