The Longines Hong Kong Vase tomorrow is the final leg of RED CADEAUX's tour of the Far East and connections remain hopeful that he can improve on last years third in the race having been drawn well in stall eight and will be partnered again by his Japan Cup jockey, Gerald Mosse.
Ed, who already has a Vase to his credit courtesy of Ouija Board and of course Snow Fairy won the Cup here in 2010 believes the horse's form in Europe stands up well against his rivals in this years renewal;
"Second in a Coronation Cup, won a Yorkshire Cup and third in the Hardwicke: he has been there or thereabouts all year. His last two runs might not attract much attention on face value, but the way the Melbourne Cup was run, it was almost a prep race for what we are doing in Asia."
"He ran well in Japan, he was the best European. He was checked as he was making his run and should have finished sixth, even though he got slightly injured."
"The horse is in better shape than he was in Japan," said Dunlop, who watched the six year old work six furlongs on the Sha Tin grass, "I am not too concerned that he's lost any zest for it after what I saw this morning."
"He may lack the class of one or two of his rivals but he's a tough old street-fighter and he'll give his all. I don't know if he can win but he'll be thereabouts."
Former Hong Kong Jockey Club Chairman Ronald Arculli, the high class stayer's owner, has had international success at Sha Tin before, winning the Cup in 1991 with his champion River Verdon, also ridden by Mosse and says it would be nice to win a Vase with Red Cadeaux.
Red Cadeaux (Steve Nicholson), trackside at an unseasonably rain soaked Sha Tin this week: