Centaur Stakes (G2) - Profiles of Green Birdie and connections

Green Birdie

GREEN BIRDIE: The 7-year-old gelding leaped to the top of the ratings with his surprise win over Rocket Man in the KrisFlyer International Sprint this spring in Singapore. By Catbird out of Mrs Squillionaire, the New Zealand-bred Green Birdie currently has six wins in 30 races, with four runnerups and four third-place finishes and will be the highest-rated runner in the Centaur Stakes.

Currently rated at 118, Green Birdie placed fourth in last year's Hong Kong Sprint and second in the 2008 version. He is expected to vye with Japan's Kinshasa no Kiseki for the status of race favorite.

Trained by Caspar Fownes, the Centaur Stakes is Green Birdie's first start in the Global Sprint Challenge with plans to run in the Sprinters Stakes (G1) on October 3.

As with Kinshasa no Kiseki, Green Birdie will be shouldering a weight of 59 kilograms, which may prove a tough load, especially at the Hanshin final slope.

TRAINER: Caspar Fownes, 43, is an Australian born in Hong Kong. He acquired his trainer's license in 2003 and since then has figured in the top ranks of Hong Kong's trainers. He was the leading trainer for the 2006/07 and 2007/09 seasons. Last year, his horses gave him a total 66 wins and the No. 2 trainer's spot.

Caspar worked alongside his father, Lawrie, also a prominent trainer, from the time the younger Fownes was 14 and the two later worked together. Son Caspar has eclipsed his father's best season stats and boasts the 2006 Hong Kong Mile with The Duke among his big wins.

This will be Fownes' third time in Japan, the first time since fielding The Duke in the 2007 Yasuda Kinen.

OWNER: A racehorse owner since the young age of 22 – thanks to the influence of his race-loving father – Roger Ka-Chun Li, now 30, has owned three horses, including Green Birdie, his only horse at present.

JOCKEY: The 34-year-old Mark Du Plessis has worked successfully as jockey in a number of countries, including Hong Kong, Dubai, Australia, South Africa, Macau, Mauritius, Malaysia and Singapore, where he was crowned champion jockey in 2006. Du Plessis took the reins for Green Birdie's Singapore winning run and will be riding the horse for only the second time.

A native of Zimbabwe, Du Plessis burst on to the Zimbabwe scene as champion apprentice rider in 1994/95 season. In the 1997/98 season, he became the leading jockey, then moved to New Zealand in 1998. Two years later, the globe-trotting Du Plessis began riding in Singapore, returned for a while to New Zealand in 2004 before returning to Singapore the following year. From 2007, he has once again focused his riding in New Zealand.

This will be Du Plessis' first time riding in Japan.