Scenic Blasts Them Away In Lightning

Outstanding West Australian sprinter Scenic Blast is now eyeing overseas glory following his win in the opening leg of the 2009 Global Sprint Challenge, the Coolmore Lightning Stakes at Flemington last Saturday.

Connections have confirmed their interest in travelling the five-year-old to future legs of the Series, particularly the famous Royal Ascot meeting in England in June.

Scenic Blast upset Australia’s glamour gallopers Weekend Hussler and Apache Cat in the Lightning, finally confirming the promise he’s shown in previous trips to Melbourne over the past two seasons.

Trained by highly respected Perth mentor Daniel Morton, Scenic Blast defeated gutsy Sydney speedster Typhoon Zed and South Australian-trained sprinter Grand Duels, to lead home an all-interstate trifecta.

Weekend Hussler was undoubtedly the unlucky runner of the race, only gaining clear galloping room in the closing stages to finish a close-up fourth.

Scenic Blast now heads the Global Sprint Challenge table with 10 points ahead of Typhoon Zed on 5 and Grand Duels on 4.

The second leg of the Global Sprint Challenge is the Group 1 King’s Stand Stakes (1000m) at Royal Ascot on 16 June.

Global Sprint Challenge Points Table - 1st February 2009

Global Sprint Challenge takes off with Lightning

The 2009 Global Sprint Challenge will start with a bang this weekend when Australia’s two top sprinters, Weekend Hussler and Apache Cat clash for the first time in the $500,000 Group 1 Coolmore Lightning Stakes (1000m) at Flemington on Saturday.

The mouth-watering clash will provide the perfect start to the Global Sprint Challenge which is now in its fifth year. The series, worth US$8 million, is conducted in four countries across the globe; Australia, United Kingdom, Japan and Hong Kong.

Apache Cat topped the points table in last year’s Global Sprint Challenge courtesy of his win in the Lightning Stakes and third placing in the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong International Sprint at Sha Tin in December. He headed an all-Aussie trifecta at the top of the points table, beating Takeover Target and Swick, another of his rivals on Saturday.

Following the Lightning Stakes Apache Cat is likely to be aimed at an international campaign which will include a trip to the famous Royal Ascot meeting in June which features two further legs of the Global Sprint Challenge; the Group 1 King’s Stand Stakes and Golden Jubilee Stakes.

A US$1 million bonus is again on offer for any horse that can win three Group 1 races in three countries. This year the bonus will be split between the owner (75%) and trainer (25%).

Racing Victoria Limited Chief Executive Officer Rob Hines said, “Australian horses have a fantastic reputation when it comes to the Global Sprint Challenge having dominated the series over the past few years against some of the world’s best sprinters.

“In conjunction with the Victoria Racing Club and our international partners in the series, we eagerly await the first leg of the world’s premier racing series for sprinters this weekend and encourage connections of the best sprinters from the four continents to take up the challenge.”

                          "THE HUSSLER"                                                                     "THE CAT"

LEG 1- COOLMORE LIGHTNING STAKES
Weight for Age No Claims. Group 1
1000 Metres $502,500 2.46 PM