Yasuda Kinen (G1) -- Profiles of Hong Kong Runners -- Fellowship, Sight Winner and Beauty Flash

This Sunday afternoon's Yasuda Kinen will host three horses from overseas, all three from nearby Hong Kong. The hugely successful and current Hong Kong leading trainer John Size brings Sight Winner, here for his second Yasuda Kinen, while former champion jockey and veteran trainer Anthony Cruz fields Beauty Flash. Fellowship, trained by Paul O'Sullivan, makes it a trio, a gelding trio that tops the 18-strong Yasuda lineup in the ratings.

Hong Kong horses have traditionally fared well in the Yasuda Kinen, going back to 1998 runnerup Oriental Express and 2000 champion Fairy King Prawn. Hong Kong superstar Silent Witness took third in the 2005 race, and more recently were 2006 champion Bullish Luck and the third-place finisher in the race, Joyful Winner. The irony is that none of them went into the race as the favorite, not even Silent Witness; Bullish Luck won as the third choice, Fairy King Prawn as the 10th pick, and Armada finished runnerup as the fifth choice in 2008.

This year, the Hong Kong trio are thought to have a good chance at the 100-million-yen Yasuda winner's share. With no strong favorite from the Japanese team, expectations are wide open and Hong Kong hopes are high for its third win of the Yasuda Kinen.

Fellowship (c) Hong Kong Jockey Club Fellowship FELLOWSHIP: The 8-year-old Fellowship, the oldest of the Hong Kong participants, tops the ratings with a hefty 118 and is said to be in corresponding "top form." He closed 2009 with an excellent run behind Hong Kong's beloved miler Good Baba and finished only 0.1 seconds off the star in third place in the Hong Kong Mile (G1) at Sha Tin. The new year saw him start out looking good and has continued to give him the best season of the three fielded for the Yasuda Kinen. He won the Stewards' Cup (HK,G1) in January, followed by a second place in the 1,400-meter Queen's Silver Jubilee Cup, another Hong Kong G1. His last time out, in the Champions Mile (Int'l G1), saw him turn in a fine second-place run 3/4 length off the winner, a run that had him looking exceptionally good for an 8-year-old. Fellowship, by O'Reilly out of the Danzalion mare Mystical Flight, was bred in New Zealand, as were the other two geldings, Fellowship ran three races in New Zealand before moving to Hong Kong. Two of those races, both wins, were over a left-hand course. All others have been to the right. He currently has 9 wins in 28 starts. Fellowship was ridden in the Champions Mile by Australia native Zachary Purton, who will take the reins on Sunday. Purton, 27, has ridden the horse for his last five outings and won his first G1 race in Hong Kong with the Stewards' Cup this year aboard Fellowship. Purton debuted in Australia in 2000 and started riding in Hong Kong in 2007/2008. He made the No. 3 spot among Hong Kong-based jockeys last season. It will be his first time riding in Japan. Fellowship is owned by Wai Kin Sin, 80, who has been the proud owner of eight horses to date, all of which included the suffix "ship" in their names. Sin, is the president of Myer Jewelry Manufacturer and currently owns one other horse in addition to Fellowship. Paul O'Sullivan trains Fellowship. The son of trainer Dave O'Sullivan, he accompanied his father to Japan with Horlicks in 1989 for her winning run in the ninth Japan Cup. The O'Sullivans worked as a team for 17 years and together made top trainer in New Zealand 10 times. The younger O'Sullivan also made top trainer one time in New Zealand on his own after his father's retirement. Paul moved to Hong Kong in 2004 and captured the Hong Kong Derby in 2007. Last year he was ranked 10th amongst Hong Kong trainers. This year he is in 11th place with 27 wins (as of May 23). It is his first time to bring a horse to Japan in his own name.

Sight Winner (c) Hong Kong Jockey Club Sight Winner SIGHT WINNER: Sight Winner, rated 117, will be racing abroad for his second time after last year's Yasuda Kinen, in which he finished in sixth place 4 lengths off the winner Vodka. The Faltaat-sired Sight Winner, now 7 years old, has been winless since the race prior to last year's Yasuda, the 2009 Champions Mile (G1) in Hong Kong. In his 10 starts following the 2009 Yasuda Kinen, he has failed to make the money in all but one race, a second-place finish in the Cathay Pacific International Mile Trial (HKG2) at Sha Tin last November. He is coming off a fourth-place finish two and a half lengths off the winner Able One in the April 25 Champions Mile at Sha Tin. Last year, Sight Winner captured the Champion Miles and went to the Yasuda gate gunning to become the second horse after Bullish Luck in 2006 to claim the $1-million bonus for two wins in the Asian Mile Challenge. Sight Winner was sent off as ninth choice in the 2009 Yasuda Kinen but, having drawn the far outside No. 18 slot, was forced to go wide. Entering the straight some seven or eight horses off the front, he was unable to gain ground and finished in sixth place 0.7 seconds off the winner. This year, with the retirement of both Vodka and Deep Sky, Sight Winner may have a bit better luck. Ridden by Brett Prebble last year, this year sees Craig Williams up. Williams, 33, debuted in Australia in 1993. For four years straight from 2005 he gained the leading spot among Australia (Victoria) -based jockeys and, in 2007, won the World Super Jockeys Series in Japan. Williams, who is currently riding in Japan on a short-term license, became the first foreign jockey to capture the Tenno Sho (Spring) with his win aboard Jaguar Mail earlier this year. Riding frequently at the Tokyo venue and with rides other than the Yasuda expected this weekend at Tokyo, Williams will, of the three foreign jockeys taking on the Yasuda Kinen, most definitely have the "turf advantage." Sight Winner is owned by Wing Kun Tam, 60, who has owned three racehorses. Sight Winner is his only runner currently. He is the chairman of seven air freight companies, including Tam Wing Kun Holdings. Bookmaker-turned-trainer John Size, 55, moved to Hong Kong in 2001 after a successful career as trainer in Australia. He shot to the top, making leading trainer in Hong Kong in his first season and again the following season, when he claimed top-earner status as well. Size continued his successful run, besting the trainer list for the next three years. He sits in the top spot again now with 59 wins (as of May 23) so far this season.

Beauty Flash (c) Hong Kong Jockey Club Beauty Flash BEAUTY FLASH: The Golan-sired Beauty Flash, 5 years old and currently with 7 wins in 14 starts, is currently rated at 116. He finished in third place the last time out in the Hong Kong Champions Mile (G1) a length and a half off the winner. Beauty Flash won the Hong Kong Classic Mile (HKG1) in January and has had two third-place finishes in this year's five starts. The Classic Mile was his only win at the mile. His other six wins have been over shorter distances, five at 1,400 meters and one over 1,200 meters. Beauty Flash had a tough break last time out in the Champions Mile when he failed to get a clear run in the straight, but the fact that he was able to still make third shows he is no pushover. His 14 career starts have seen him finish no further back than fifth in all races. Riding will be veteran rider Felix Coetzee, 51. Coetzee, originally from South Africa, rode for years in Hong Kong, and is perhaps best known for the super partnership that captured seven G1 races aboard Silent Witness. Silent Witness also won the 2005 Sprinters Stakes in Japan. This will be Coetzee's fifth time to ride in Japan. Beauty Flash is trained by former champion, globe-trotting jockey Anthony Cruz, 53. Cruz debuted as a jockey in Hong Kong in 1974 and went on to be Hong Kong champion jockey six times before his retirement in 1996. His record of 946 wins was only recently topped by Douglas Whyte. Cruz made leading trainer in Hong Kong in 1999/2000 and again in 2004/2005, when he rewrote the record books with a season total top of 91 wins, a record that still holds. Currently, he is in the No. 4 spot among Hong Kong trainers for wins. He has brought seven horses to race in Japan, among them 2005 Sprinters Stakes winner Silent Witness and 2006 Yasuda Kinen champion Bullish Luck. Beauty Flash is owned by Siu Ming Kwok, 57, who also owns three other Hong Kong runners. He is the CEO of Sa Sa International Holdings, an investment holding company engaging in the retail and wholesale of cosmetics brand products. The word "beauty" usually makes up part of the names of Kwok's racehorses. * * * * Fellowship is the only of the three Hong Kong horses to have won over a left-hand course. Sight Winner's only experience over a course run to the left was at Tokyo Racecourse in last year's Yasuda. Beauty Flash has yet to race in a counterclockwise direction.