Silent Witness Returns Amid Gr.1 Bonanza At Sha Tin Two Gr.1 races form the backbone of a very strong programme at Sha Tin that features a HK$20m Triple Trio jackpot this Sunday, but the principal question on the lips of race fans is whether the great Silent Witness can rekindle the form that made him most successful horse in the history of Hong Kong racing. The champ´s recent trackwork has furrowed many a brow and some judges are sceptical that his bid for a third straight Centenary Sprint Cup (1000m), the first leg of the Champion Sprint Series, can end successfully. Trainer Tony Cruz, however, maintained earlier in the week that Silent Witness was firmly on course to make his first Hong Kong start in nine months and his presence would mean that the world´s leading sprinter is 100 per cent ready. An improved workout on Thursday appeared to corroborate this view and, chasing the 500th winner of his training career, nothing would give Cruz greater pleasure than to achieve the landmark with the greatest horse he is ever likely to handle and thereby silence those who doubted him. But if there are chinks in the armour of the dual Horse of the Year, a number of classy rivals are more than ready to ruin his unblemished record of 18 sprint victories and these include the first four past the post in the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Sprint ten weeks ago. Trainers Derek Cruz and Almond Lee expressed satisfaction with the preparations of Natural Blitz and Planet Ruler, one-two in the December´s big sprint. 'Planet Ruler has been training well and I´m happy that he is drawn barrier two, the same as when he won the Sprint Trial back in November,' Lee said. 'Of course it depends on what shape Silent Witness is in. I don´t know if he is at his peak yet but if he is I´d like to think we could run second to him again.' Scintillation should also pose a significant threat in the 10-runner field. About two and half hours later it is the turn of the Hong Kong Gold Cup (2000m) a race in which Stewards´ Cup hero Russian Pearl is out to secure the second leg of the Triple Crown and a HK$2m bonus. Chief among Russian Pearl´s rivals is Best Gift, a short-head runner-up a month ago in the Stewards´ Cup after a terrific tussle inside the final 200m. Hailing from the irrepressible John Moore stable, Best Gift will be ridden by Douglas Whyte. 'The step-up in distance is perfect for Best Gift. He´s a flexible horse because he can race prominently or come from further back in the field. What matters is that he has a serious turn of foot. He´s probably more flexible than Russian Pearl who has to come from further behind but I´m sure he will be a good opponent again on Sunday,' said Whyte. 'I have been on Best Gift is all of his recent gallops and I know that he has held his form and that he is still in very good order,' the champion jockey added. Jockey Christophe Soumillon opts to desert Moore´s Centenary Vase (Gr.3-2000m) winner Super Kid in favour of Bullish Luck, whose 20/1 win in this race two years ago was the first of a hat-trick of top-level victories, although that form has tapered off a little in 2005/06. Super Kid is reunited with Shane Dye, his rider when successful in two legs of the Triple Crown in 2004.
