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Suborics claims speedy Amber Sky the equal of Hungarian legend

7th May 2012

South China Morning Post - Michael Cox - Monday, 7 May 2012

Andreas Suborics has compared super-impressive juvenile Amber Sky to champion Hungarian sprinter Overdose after the speedster's second win up the straight in slick time.

Suborics rode Overdose, dubbed the "Budapest Bullet" for his phenomenal racetrack exploits, on five occasions for four wins, including an incredible 10-length romp in a Group Three in Italy.

It might seem a stretch to draw parallels between a griffin, who has won two from two on his home track in restricted company, and an iconic racehorse who won 15 from 18 overall, but Suborics is adamant Amber Sky is something very special.

"I've only ridden one sprinter before that was like him and that was Overdose," Suborics said. "He is just has such a great turn of foot from the gates and a lot of speed. The only difference between him and Overdose is that this horse is very relaxed, whereas Overdoes was a very hot horse.

Suborics pointed to the time of 56.54, nearly a second faster than the following race over the same distance, as evidence of the gelding's exceptional talent.

"He just cruises on a fast pace, but not too keen. How many two-years-old can do that in that sort of time? And today was not really a fast track, it is very impressive how he wins.

"He is only going to get better. He will get stronger as he matures, there's not much room for him to get faster, but as he gets older he will get stronger."

Trainer Ricky Yiu Poon-fai doesn't usually bring two-year-olds to the races, but said the son of Exceed And Excel's precocity was obvious when he paid A$80,000 (HK$631,884) for him at the Sydney Easter yearling Sales.

"Usually they are too backward and not capable of doing anything in the griffin races as two-year-olds, but as soon as I saw him, I knew right then that he was going to come on quick" he said. "He is a natural and he won even easier than last start, the jockey didn't use him much. I'll have to run him in Class Three and just hope the handicapper doesn't treat him too harshly. There's a 1,000m race for him in four weeks."