Six in a Row for Lucky Sweynesse (NZ)

Hong Kong sensation Lucky Sweynesse (NZ) (Sweynesse) added a sixth win to his incredible sequence with a dominant performance in Sunday’s HK$3.9m Group Three Sha Tin Vase (1200m).

Bought for $90,000 from the 2020 Ready to Run Sale at Karaka, Lucky Sweynesse has now won 13 of his 17 career starts and earned a total of HK$45.6m – the equivalent of NZ$9.6m, which is over 100 times his purchase price.

Lucky Sweynesse has now won seven of his last eight starts and all of his last six in succession, including this year’s Group One Centenary Sprint Cup (1200m), Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup (1400m) and Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1200m).

Sunday’s Sha Tin Vase was a step down in class from those heights, but it brought a corresponding rise in weight. The high-flying four-year-old had to carry 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms), giving away a significant weight advantage to all of his seven rivals. But it made no difference to the result.

Ridden by his usual jockey Zac Purton, Lucky Sweynesse settled in third before effortlessly cruising up alongside the leaders with just under 400 metres remaining.

Purton never used his whip and had no need to ask for all of Lucky Sweynesse’s power and acceleration down the Sha Tin straight. As soon as he had kicked clear of his overmatched opponents, Purton began to ease Lucky Sweynesse down and even gave him a pat just short of the finish line. He won by a length and a quarter and stopped the clock at 1:08.00.

“Once he jumped as well he did, it made it easier,” Purton said. “And then with the extra pace in the race, with the weight on his back, it just allowed him to get into a nice rhythm and to come into the race when he was ready.

“I looked after him for as long as I could and he did the rest. It was a pretty soft win. He’s something else. He’s starting to turn into a very, very good horse.

“The last three or four months, he’s improved so much. It’s scary to think that, with a break, he might build up even more. I’m hoping that’s the case.”

With eight wins this season, Lucky Sweynesse has equalled Hong Kong’s record number of victories in a single campaign – previously set by fellow Karaka graduate Beauty Generation (NZ) (Road To Rock).

Trained Manfred Man may give his stable star the chance to take sole ownership of that record, with the Group Three Premier Cup (1400m) on June 25 looming as a potential option.

“I need to discuss with the owner first, it’s too early to give an answer,” he said. “I will look at the horse after the race. We will do a morning gallop to see how he feels. Now the weather is very hot, so I don’t want the horse to feel hot. He is in really good form and I think maybe next season he can still improve a little bit.”

Lucky Sweynesse has headlined an outstanding run of form in Hong Kong for his sire Sweynesse, who sits in fourth on the premiership this season with six winners from just eight runners.

The Novara Park stallion will feature in the upcoming National Weanling & Broodmare Sale at Karaka on June 16, where he has three weanlings in the catalogue, along with a broodmare who is in foal to him.

Vendor	Woburn Farm
Purchaser	J & I Bloodstock (Waikato)
Breeding	Sweynesse – Madonna Mia
Sale	Lot 284, 2020 Ready to Run Sale, $90,000
Bred by	P L Dombroski, Explosive Breeding Ltd & S A Sharrock