So far so good for Silent Witness in Japan

Sprinters Stakes News (2)

With Monday an enforced day off in Japanese training centres, the focus for Sunday's Sprinters Stakes field switched to the raiding party of four runners from overseas, three of them at the Shiroi quarantine facilities.

Hong Kong's Silent Witness was given the hardest push in morning work yesterday, doing two laps to the right (2,800m), clocking 71 seconds for 1000m and finishing up with an 11.1-second final 200m dash.

Work rider Cody Mo Wai-kit said trainer Tony Cruz had instructed him by telephone to give Silent Witness a bit of fast work. "His response was good and his acceleration in the finish was better than I had expected. I am quite satisfied," Mo said. "He showed no signs of being tired after working and he is eating well. Things are good."

The three recent arrivals at Shiroi all passed stalls tests and Mo said Silent Witness had done better than last time. "We had had trouble getting him loaded last year, but this time he was quite good about it. He's about the same as he is in Hong Kong, so we're not worried."

Leading British hopeful Les Arcs did a leisurely canter with faster work planned for later this week. A bullish assistant trainer Toni Syddall said: "I think our horse is going to win. His training has gone to plan up to now and we're very satisfied with him."

The other British runner Benbaun also breezed his way through some gentle work, as did the Aussie star Takeover Target at Nakayama.

"He felt fine. He's a real easy horse to handle," groom Luke Pepper said of Takeover Target. "He's fresh, he's in great shape and enjoying the environment at Nakayama."