The Group Three Bauhinia Sprint Trophy has launched successful Royal Ascot...
From RACING POST HK
The Group Three Bauhinia Sprint Trophy has launched successful Royal Ascot tilts in its past two editions, and Amber Sky might not be aiming that high but it is an ideal opportunity for the three-year-old to get his career back on track.
Two years ago, Sweet Sanette won the Bauhinia en route to finishing a close third in the Group One King's Stand Stakes and 12 months ago it was Little Bridge putting his career back on track with a hollow victory up the Sha Tin straight course before taking the King's Stand nearly as comfortably.
Royal Ascot might be a little soon for a relatively inexperienced three-year-old like Ricky Yiu Poon-fai-trained Amber Sky (Andreas Suborics), even though the youngster's connections have long had an itchy trigger finger to try him in elite events.
But this race offers Amber Sky an excellent chance to win his first black-type event and start to restore his once towering reputation as the next big thing in the Hong Kong sprint ranks.
After starting the season unbeaten in three outings at two, Amber Sky has been brought back to earth and managed just one win from four against older opposition more worthy of his steel this time around.
But, as we get deeper into the back half of the season, southern hemisphere three-year-olds are rapidly maturing and turning the tables on the older horses that might have given them trouble earlier in the term. Now is the time that we are looking to the likes of Amber Sky to make their case for the future.
Not that there has been a lot wrong with Amber Sky's form - he had legitimate excuses at two of his three defeats and was not disgraced in his latest sixth, thrown in the deep end in the Group One Centenary Sprint Cup under weight conditions which were not in his favour.
He was 31/2 lengths from the winner Eagle Regiment, two lengths behind Frederick Engels and a half-a-length superior to Joy And Fun - and there is plenty to recommend that form since.