KrisFlyer Sprint

　Absolute Championが逝ってしまいました
Janiak's gem a distant Target for Champion

Absolute Champion has stayed at home until today, but unfortunately his first foray on to foreign soil has not gone well.
A dark cloud hovered over the trip until jockey Brett Prebble gave him the all-clear after handling him in steady work on Monday morning.
A sore front foot, which has niggled at him all season but been especially troublesome lately, has been giving trainer David Hall serious headaches.
After winning a barrier trial on May 6 Absolute Champion did not even have a saddle on his back for the next four days. His exercise for each of those days consisted of walking and swimming, and his only "fast" work since the trial was 800m in evens (60 seconds) at Kranji racecourse on Friday.
The foot issues were neither the beginning nor the end of Absolute Champion's woes. He went berserk as the plane lifted off from Chek Lap Kok airport on Tuesday and tore skin off his left hind leg. According to veterinary sources he was "fortunate" that he broke the skin below the hock, allowing the wounds to drain naturally and not swell.
And then there has been the gelding's adjustment to his new surroundings. On his first trip away from Sha Tin since his importation from Sydney in mid 2005, he has not been entirely settled and has consequently lost body weight.
So it's understating the obvious to say this is not the ideal preparation for a title consolation fight, which is what today's S$1 million (HK$5.6 million) KrisFlyer Sprint amounts to.

　Absolute Championの今回のレースへ向けての臨戦過程は上記記事を見ていただければ分かりますが、簡単に要約すると
①シーズン中、前脚に痛みを抱えていたが、特に最近になってそれに悩まされることが多くなってきていた
②5月6日にバリアトライアルを使った後、4日間完全に乗り運動を抑え、プール調教と引き運動に終始した(トライアル後に出した早い時計は5月16日にクランジで出したのみ)
③香港を発つ際、暴れて左後脚に外傷を負った(これは特にひどい怪我ではなかった)
④到着後も環境に慣れることができず、体重を大きく減らしてしまった(前走507㌔、今回493㌔)
　これらのどれが決定的な要因となってあの悲劇をもたらしたのか私にはもちろん分かりません。おそらく、様々な要因が積み重なったものなのでしょう。
　Absolute ChampionがSilent Witnessを下し圧勝した06年の香港スプリント、Takeover Targetは禁止薬物検出の為にグローバルスプリント王者となりながらも、世界最速を競うゲートにまでたどり着くことはできなかった。それから1年半、Takeover Targetが歓喜のゴールを迎える中、Absolute Championはゴールにまでたどり着くことはできなかった。これほどまでに明暗が分かれる2頭も珍しい。合掌･･･。