Hot King Prawn is one of the most dependable horses in training and at Sha Tin this Sunday (26 April) trainer John Size is hopeful that reliability can at last be rewarded with a G1 success in the Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1200m).
“At the moment this is an opportunity for him to win a big one – he’s done everything right going into the race so hopefully he gives it a good shake,” Size said.
“He just goes out there and does his job, you always know what you’re going to get and his consistency hopefully pays off one day and he can win a Group 1.”
The Denman gelding has raced 17 times for 16 top three finishes, including 10 wins. This season he has placed three times at G1 level and has the opportunity to cap a return from colic surgery 14 months ago with victory in the HK$18 million dash.
The five-year-old spent almost 10 months recovering on the sidelines before returning in the autumn and is now on his way to fulfilling the potential he showed as a young prospect. But that setback means that the popular grey finds himself in a race against time – age will soon start to catch up. Should he fail to score on Sunday, his next shot at a G1 will likely come at the LONGINES Hong Kong International Races in December, another eight months away.
“He hasn’t had much racing overall so that’s the only thing that might help him if he runs as a six-year-old next season. He did have those 10 months away from trackwork and racing so that will probably help him moving forward,” Size said.
A total of 19 five-year-old’s have won the Chairman’s Sprint Prize since 1979 and Hot King Prawn fits the mould, like Beat The Clock last year, Lucky Bubbles (2017) before that, and Chautauqua (2016). He could also secure his handler’s third win in succession with Ivictory having won for the stable in 2018.
“He’s always pretty consistent at what he does – he doesn’t change much and he’s been strong for a few months now. He’s had a bit of racing this season but hopefully he can stand up to it and he gets his chance here to win a big race.”
