Racehorse TALK

Hong Kong-based Australian trainer John Size will send Enthused to tackle the world’s two best sprinters in next month’s Group I Sprinters Stakes in Japan.

The Perth-trained Australian Horse of the Year, Scenic Blast, and Hong Kong’s star sprinter Sacred Kingdom, are already confirmed to face off in the second last leg of the Global Sprint Challenge.

Size has targeted the Sprinters’ Stakes with Enthused despite the gelding finishing last at his latest run in the Group I Silver Jubilee Stakes at Sha Tin in March.

"It was the only time he's been out of the first five in 20 runs here so it wasn't his usual form and I think he was just tired," Size told the South China Morning Post.

"We have found nothing else. He's had a decent spell since that run and it would have been good to race him before Japan to be sure and to know he's firing but we don't have that option."

Enthused boasts two wins from three clashes with Sacred Kingdom.

The trainer said he would monitor the six-year-old’s work in the lead-up to the October 4 event but said he would be ‘making plans to go” to Japan.

Formerly known to Australian punters as Let’s Migrate, Enthused’s chances in the Sprinters’ Cup have been boosted by the engagement of champion Hong Kong jockey Douglas Whyte.