Peniaphobia (Ire) (Dandy Man {Ire}) and Not Listenin'tome (Aus) (Dylan Thomas {Ire}), two of the top sprinters in Hong Kong, participated in a Tuesday morning barrier trial up the Sha Tin straight in advance of an expected clash in the National Day Cup H. Oct. 1.
Victorious in last year's G1 Longines Hong Kong Sprint, the Tony Cruz-trained Peniaphobia left running from gate 11 and was held on to by Matthew Chadwick to sit a close second off the speedy pace set by Rad (Aus) (Foreplay {Aus}). Allowed to inch closer once hooking up with the course proper, Peniaphobia put away the lead runner and 'won' the trial (video) in :58.15 over turf rated officially good to yielding on a showery morning in the New Territories. Not Listenin'tome, who defeated recent Keeneland Korea Sprint winner Super Jockey (NZ) (Sandtrap) when first-up in last year's National Day Cup, raced in close attendance to the pace along the stands' rail and stayed on very well for second. Third in last year's Hong Kong Sprint, Not Listenin'tome is trained by John Moore.
“Peniaphobia went well,” Chadwick said. “He went fresh today, he jumped nicely and I'm happy with the way he finished. He should be better for that trial and the way he went today I think he'll be okay for his first run. If the opposition is what I think it will be, then I'd expect it to be between Peniaphobia and Not Listenin'tome. They'll be carrying similar weights and I'd be happy to be on Peniaphobia.”
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