As Australia prepares for another serve of Black Caviar at Doomben on Saturday, the team that will oppose her when she eventually makes her international debut is gathering 6,000 kilometres away.
Rocket Man, who broke through for an international Group One success in Dubai this year, the world’s former No.1 sprinter Sacred Kingdom and his fellow Hong Kong Group One star Green Birdie are all in Singapore tuning up for Sunday week’s KrisFlyer International Sprint (1200m).
The three sprinters are almost certain to oppose Black Caviar should she run as anticipated at December’s Hong Kong International meeting.
Rocket Man has finished second in the past two runnings of Singapore’s major Group One sprint, beaten in 2009 by Sacred Kingdom and last year by Green Birdie.
He then finished second to J J The Jet Plane in Hong Kong last December before his Dubai breakthrough in March.
The Singapore star returned to racing earlier this month with an impressive victory on his home track at Kranji.
On the same program as the KrisFlyer, the $S3 million Group One Singapore Airlines International Cup (2000m) has attracted the strongest line-up in the race’s history.
Headed by the much-travelled Presvis, winner of the Dubai Duty Free on World Cup night, the Cup will include the next three horses over the line in that race – River Jetez, Wigmore Hall and Royal Bench.
Also among the intended Cup runners are Melbourne Cup hopeful Gitano Hernandez from Dubai, Chinchon from France and the well-credentialled Hong Kong pair California Memory and Irian.
AAP TURF
