Silvestre De Sousa has a plum ride on Peniaphobia, who made all under 'Magic Man' Joao Moreira last year having shot to the inside from his wide berth right from the start. This time Tony Cruz' charge is drawn one and will be very difficult to catch. He hasn't been at his best in recent runs having finished behind Not Listenin'tome, Lucky Bubbles and Amazing Kids but it would be no surprise to see him produce another big run. The latter trio are all very closely matched but Ryan Moore's partner, the brilliant Japan Group 1 winner Big Arthur, has a mountain to climb from stall 13. He can't have been at his best when a long way behind Red Faix at Nakayama in October though the winner has been in impressive form and is slightly better berthed. AEROVELOCITY beat Penophobia a neck in this in 2014 and looks to have been trained for another crack. He's another who is closely matched with the local sprinters, especially Lucky Bubbles, but should be at his absolute peak and gets the nod. Richard Fahey's Growl, runner-up in the Champions Sprint Series before landing a Doncaster Listed contest, has it all to do from stall 12 while the prolific USA-based Pure Sensation has only fared marginally better and has been under a cloud all week.
Aerovelocity (NZ) (8-11) 3rd of 10, 1 3/4l behind Not Listenin'tome (8-11) at Sha Tin 6f gd in Nov.
Lucky Bubbles (AUS) (8-11) 2nd of 10, 1/2l behind Not Listenin'tome (8-11) at Sha Tin 6f gd in Nov.
Peniaphobia (IRE) (9-2) 7th of 10, 2 1/2l behind Not Listenin'tome (8-11) at Sha Tin 6f gd in Nov.
Not Listenin'tome (AUS) (8-11) won at Sha Tin 6f gd in Nov beating Lucky Bubbles (8-11) by 1/2l, 10 ran.
Amazing Kids (NZ) (8-11) 5th of 10, 2 1/2l behind Not Listenin'tome (8-11) at Sha Tin 6f gd in Nov.
Big Arthur (JPN) (0-0) 12th of 0, shd behind Red Falx (0-0) at Nakayama 6f in Oct.
Rebel Dane (AUS) (9-4) 3rd of 7, 4 1/4l behind Winx (9-0) at Randwick 7f stks gd in Aug.
Signs Of Blessing (IRE) 9-1 (9-2) Led trio racing towards far side and overall, ridden over 1f out, ran on until headed final 100 yards, no extra and lost two places near finish, 4th of 13, 1 1/2l behind The Tin Man (9-2) at Ascot 6f Grp 1 stks (1) gd in Oct.
Red Falx (JPN) (0-0) won at Nakayama 6f in Oct beating Mikki Isle (0-0) by shd, 0 ran.
Strathmore (AUS) (8-11) 6th of 10, 2 1/2l behind Not Listenin'tome (8-11) at Sha Tin 6f gd in Nov.
Growl 2-1fav (9-3) Held up in touch, headway 3f out, switched outside to challenge over 1f out, soon ridden, kept on well inside final furlong, led narrowly final strides, won at Doncaster 6f lst stks (1) gf in Nov beating Aeolus (9-3) by ns, 7 ran.
Takedown (AUS) (7-13) 14th of 18, 12 1/4l behind Under The Louvre (8-8) at Eagle Farm 7f Grp 1 hcp gd in Jun.
Pure Sensation (USA) 12-1 (9-0) Came out str,held 3rd, 3rd of 14, 1 1/4l behind Obviously (9-0) at Santa Anita 6f gd in Nov.
Super Jockey (NZ) (8-11) won at Seoul 7f stks fst in Sep
