Caspar Fownes will continue a voyage of discovery with Straight Arron when the talented four-year-old contests the G1 Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup (2400m) at Sha Tin on Sunday (28 May).
With only seven Hong Kong runs under his belt, the former Australian galloper rises to Group 1 level for the first time in a short career when he tackles Hong Kong’s premier middle distance performer Romantic Warrior in the HK$12 million feature.
The Fastnet Rock gelding also faces Russian Emperor and Panfield – the two most recent winners of the Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup – at set weights (126lb) after his courageous G3 Queen Mother Memorial Cup (2400m) victory on 7 May with 117lb.
Assessing the magnitude of the challenge confronting Straight Arron, four-time Hong Kong champion trainer Fownes was initially undecided whether to contest the season’s final Group 1 with the rising star.

“I was contemplating whether I would run him or not. It was a hard effort the other day, he stuck to his guns. It was a big step up in trip and obviously he’s going to strip fitter again at this distance, going back-to-back will help him,” Fownes said.
“We made the entry, we looked at the race and thought ‘You know what, let’s see if we can run a good race’, which I’m sure he will. He’ll show us something but, at set weights, it’s a different ball game.
“You’ve got last year’s winner there, Russian Emperor, whom I’m sure Douglas (Whyte) will have in great nick and then obviously Romantic Warrior stepping up to 2400 metres, which looks to be well within his capabilities as such a top-class horse.”
Fownes believes Straight Arron is still to achieve his maximum mark in the handicaps and is hopeful of further improvement yet.
“Look, we’re 102-rated – we’re out of the ratings in this race on Sunday – but we don’t know where this horse’s true rating is. He keeps improving and I think he’ll be a better horse come December because he’s just starting to strengthen up and do things right,” Fownes said.
“I can’t ask much more of him, he’s won three of four for me and we’re very proud of him.”

Fownes will also be represented by Senor Toba and Columbus County in the nine-horse field, which also contains Money Catcher, Natural Storm and Five G Patch, who carries Tony Cruz’s hopes of an eighth G1 Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup win as a trainer.
Fownes is optimistic Senor Toba can rebound after four unplaced efforts.
“The main concern on Sunday is that he doesn’t have mucus, which he’s just been plagued with at the last few starts for some reason so we’ve sent him to Conghua and we’re hoping that bringing him back a few days earlier will be the recipe to getting him back on track and getting him back to performing before he left for the Middle East,” Fownes said.
“He performed well before his trip and if he has no mucus, he’s a horse you have to respect and we’re hoping he can hit the frame.
“I thought Columbus County ran a great race the other day, stepping up from the mile to the 2400m. Obviously, he’s going to strip a lot fitter for that run. His work during the week was very, very nice and he presents as a horse with fresh legs so we’d be hopeful of hitting the frame.
“We’ve got a couple of chances there who can hopefully pick up prizemoney but obviously the champion (Romantic Warrior) is in there with us so we give him the utmost respect.”

Sunday’s (28 May) 11-race card kicks off with the Pakistan Star Plate (1200m) for Griffins at 12.30pm.