By MIKE DILLON
Horse racing is all about sublety and money.
The Sunline camp sacrificed the second for the first of those two principles and deserve success in tomorrow night's $2.65 million Hong Kong Mile.
When you have a horse as good as Sunline, murdering a million is not an easy decision.
The Hong Kong Cup has a cheque for $3.75 million, but the McKee stable knows the Mile is where Sunline has the best chance of taking her revenge for failing in last year's cup.
If everyone in New Zealand, Australia and Hong Kong thought Sunline would win the cup last year, they haven't changed their minds about her chances in this year's Mile.
The champion Kiwi mare will start a hot favourite here and on the Hong Kong tote.
Prompting the McKees to get excited about Sunline's chances is like getting the PM to smile, but is an element of their success.
And they don't want to talk too much about tactics.
More happy to say the lavish complimentary Sha Tin breakfasts sit better with them when they watch Sunline than was the case last year.
"She didn't settle in as well last year," said Trevor McKee between the salmon and bacon and eggs yesterday morning.
"She drew badly, was in season and didn't handle the heat, particularly after overdoing her final fast work."
Barrier nine is of little consequence to Sunline.
She clears the gates fast and the mile barrier allows a long run down the back straight to the first bend.
"Fairy King Prawn is the one we have to beat," says Stephen McKee.
The Hong Kong-trained, Australian-bred Fairy King Prawn won the Sprint last year in devastating style then went on to group one success in Japan. He has a sustained finishing sprint.
Another danger is Melbourne-trained Testa Rossa, in the best form of his career.
He has done well since arriving in Hong Kong, but trainer Dean Lawson is less than thrilled about the horse's wide barrier draw.
"At least we'll be out of trouble out there,"
The two favourites for the Hong Kong Vase (2400m) are New Zealand Derby winner Hades, racing as Helene Vitality in Hong Kong, and English and Irish Derby runner-up Daliapour, bought this week by Hong Kong interests to race from Ivan Allan's stable.
Trainer David Hayes is bullish about Helene Vitality's chances after two wins by the Zabeel 4-year-old from his new base.
It might be asking a bit too much of Melbourne Cup third placegetter Second Coming to win the Vase after losing a lot of condition following an adverse reaction to an inoculation.
The bid by French-trained Jim And Tonic to win his fourth race from five Hong Kong starts gives the $3.75 million Hong Kong Cup a fascinating edge.
The gelding looks like one of Ken Browne's jumpers and with good reason - he was bought cheaply as a young horse with a jumping career in mind.
But he does not gallop like a jumper - his eclipse of last year's Hong Kong Cup was sensationally dominant.
Jim And Tonic's trainer Francois Doumen recently told International Racing Bureau deputy Adrian Beaumont he felt the horse was in better shape for this race than at any previous stage of his career.
The horse he has to beat this time is joint favourite, Godolphin's Fantastic Light.
Counting against Fantastic Light is that he has to back up from a hard race to finish a close and luckless third in the Japan Cup only a couple of weeks ago, a scenario few European horses attempt.
He also has to drop back from 2400m to 2000m, European horses being less adaptable in that area than we are used to.
Frankie Dettori rides Fantastic Light and a victory will give Dettori his second successive Emirates World Series, following Daylami's success in the inaugura championship last season. Germany's Samum, Fantastic Light's only active rival for the crown, drew the No 4 stall.
California-trained Big Jag could be the Sprint upsetter. He would have gone close to winning it last year, but seemed confused by his first race on grass. He came from the tail of the field at the 350m to finish an amazing fourth to Fairy King Prawn then broke the track record with a runaway win in the rich Dubai Sprint on the dirt in March.
He should have learned from that first experience on grass.
Racing: Champion mare looks to show her true colours
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