Lucky Sweynesse (NZ) Sparkles in Silver Jubilee

Just over a month after claiming his first Group One spoils in the Centenary Sprint Cup (1200m), rising superstar Lucky Sweynesse (NZ) (Sweynesse) went back-to-back with another supreme performance at Sha Tin on Sunday.

The four-year-old’s emphatic defeat of elite performer California Spangle (Starspangledbanner) in the HK$12m Group One Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup (1400m) was the 10th win of his 14-start career. His career earnings of HK$29.1m (NZ$5.92m) have completely dwarfed his $90,000 purchase price at the 2020 Ready to Run Sale. 

California Spangle was a deserving favourite for Sunday’s 1400-metre feature, and he looked even more difficult to beat after enjoying an easy time out in front with an uncontested lead. But Lucky Sweynesse loomed on his outside at the top of the straight and threw down the gauntlet.

In a two-horse war through the final 300 metres, California Spangle gave his all but was unable to match the acceleration of Lucky Sweynesse. The budding star forged clear, crossing the finish line a length and a quarter in front of California Spangle. The first pair defeated the rest of the field by more than four lengths, and the race was run in a time of 1:21.12.

“He’s a pretty straightforward sort of horse and he’s got a great mind to him,” winning jockey James McDonald said. “He was quick into momentum and we had a perfect trailing position behind California Spangle. He got a lovely drag into the race from the 500-metre mark onwards, and it felt like a drag race home.

“What makes him so talented is that he’s not only a very fast horse, but he can sustain the speed over seven furlongs, which not many sprinters can do. He’s got a great attribute of conserving energy and building into a race like a pretty good horse.”

Lucky Sweynesse has now won both of the first two legs of Hong Kong’s Speed Series – the Centenary Sprint Cup and the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup. If he can complete a clean sweep of the three-race series in next month’s Group One Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1200m), he will earn a bonus of HK$5m for his connections.

“At this moment, we’re looking at another 1200-metre Group One race,” trainer Manfred Man confirmed. “After that race, we’re thinking about the distance for him and will think about taking him overseas – maybe Japan in June.

“He’s just four years old. He can still improve.”

Lucky Sweynesse is by Novara Park stallion Sweynesse out of the well-performed racemare Madonna Mia (NZ) (Red Clubs), who won nine races including the Listed Wanganui Cup (2040m). Madonna Mia is the dam of two foals, both of them stakes performers – Lucky Sweynesse’s older full-sister Signora Nera (NZ) (Sweynesse) is a three-time stakes placegetter including in the Group One Queensland Oaks (2200m).