Out of the Ka Ying Rising slipstream and up the Meydan straight? Yip ponders Al Quoz Sprint start for Fast Network

Trainer Dennis Yip Chor-hong is leaning towards a trip to Dubai for his sprinter Fast Network after the five-year-old followed home Ka Ying Rising in Sunday’s Hong Kong Sprint at Sha Tin.

“He should be going for the Al Quoz (Sprint), but we’re still having a think,” Yip told The Standard. “He ran a very good race behind Ka Ying Rising and he has pulled up well (on Monday). 

“We’ll know more in the next week or two as we need to have a couple of discussions.”

After a Group 3 win down Sha Tin’s straight 1,000-meter course on his second start this season, Fast Network acquitted himself well in last month’s Jockey Club Sprint and Sunday’s Hong Kong Sprint.

While he was beaten over four lengths by Ka Ying Rising, Fast Network earned himself his first placing at Group 1 level, which could be enough to tempt Yip to head to the Middle East for the Al Quoz Sprint. 

Yip said he will have to see whether Fast Network runs in next month’s Centenary Sprint Cup before targeting the Al Quoz Sprint, which takes place at Meydan Racecourse at the end of March.

If Fast Network takes up the assignment, he will bid to become the second Hong Kong-trained winner of the Al Quoz in the past three renewals after California Spangle won the race in 2024.