KEY POINTS:
Former Matamata trainer Paul O'Sullivan has compared Medic Power, an impressive group three winner at Sha Tin in Hong Kong on Thursday, with Kiwi sprinter Mr Tiz, "the greatest horse I ever trained".
Medic Power left everyone gasping for superlatives with his blitz of rivals in the HSBC Premier Sha Tin Vase, the same race Silent Witness won in 2003 on his way to his first Hong Kong Sprint title.
Medic Power, a son of the Danzig stallion Bertolini, is now officially the fastest horse to run 1200m in Hong Kong, having stopped the clock in 1min 7.7 secs.
"I never thought a sprinter could compare with Mr Tiz but Medic Power now can," O'Sullivan told the South China Morning Post. "The scary part is that even today, he hasn't been tested.
"I know jockeys can get carried away in the excitement of the moment but Brett [Prebble] said he still has another couple of lengths up his sleeve."
Mr Tiz has the reputation of being one of New Zealand's best sprinters, winning six group ones at home and also the group one Galaxy Handicap at Randwick in April 1991 with 58.5kg.
Prebble described Medic Power as "just awesome", after he won by 1 1/4 lengths.
"I know I won the Hong Kong Sprint this season on Absolute Champion but this is the best sprinter I've ever ridden. He's just incredible. From the moment the gates opened, I never had the slightest doubt that he was going to win it."
The win drew O'Sullivan, 11 times the champion trainer in New Zealand, some in partnership with his father Dave, to within four wins of Caspar Fownes at the top of the trainers' table.
Medic Power will now spell, with the group one HK$12 million ($2.15 million) Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Sprint in December the target.
- NZPA
