Dano-Mast finished third in The Hong Kong Cup (Gr.1)
(02.12.15) Dano-Mast showed his ability to run against the best horses in the world, when he finished third in The Hong Kong Cup (Gr.1) at Sha Tin on Sunday afternoon. The son of Unfuwain travelled well under jockey Gerald Mossé, but obviously needed a better pace during the trip. Into the stretch Dano-Mast took the lead, but was soon beaten by Hong Kong-challenger Precision and German raider Paolini. The two horses finished first and second, just half a lenght before Dano-Mast. Third prize in Cup is 1,8 million HK$, which is the biggest prize ever won by a Danish trained race horse.
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Hong Kong Cup (Gr.1) to be shown on ViaSat Sport
(02.12.13) After more than a week of negotiations, it finally settled on Friday that the Danish sports channel ViaSat Sport will show the 2002 Hong Kong Cup (Gr.1) LIVE from 9.30 a.m. on Sunday.
Commentators will be Carsten Bundgaard and Danish championtrainer Søren Jensen.
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Dano-Mast drawn as number three - a perfect position
(02.12.12) Thursday mornings 'Barrier Draw' at Sha Tin Racecourse gave Dano-Mast a starting position as number three - a perfect draw according to trainer Flemming Poulsen, who crossed his fingers for a position between two and seven. "Number three is the same draw as when he won the Prix Dollar (Gr.2) i Paris in October, and without being supersticious I think it is one of the best positions the horse could get", the trainer commented minutes after the draw.
Dano-Mast had a light work-out this morning, he looked stunning as he galloped at the sand track and It doesn't look he can get any better than he is at the moment.

The contesters for The Hong Kong Cup (Gr.1) were drawn as follows:

Grandera - draw 8
Sarafan - draw 6
Eishin Preston - draw 9
Indian Creek - draw 11
Paolini - draw 1
Dano-Mast - draw 3
Red Pepper  draw 4
Dr More - draw 7
Precision - draw 13
Come See You - draw 5
Housemaster - draw 2
Cellini - draw 12
Royal Treasure - draw 10
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Gerald Mossé is pleased with Dano-Mast work out
(02.12.10) Dano-Mast made his first piece of track work on the grass at Sha Tin on Tuesday morning, with double Hong Kong Cup-winning jockey Gerald Mossé as his pilot. Mossé was very pleased about his first meeting with the 6-y-o, and he afterwards told Flemming Poulsen that it didn't seem like he needed further work to be in top shape for the Cup on Sunday. "Everything is very well with Dano-Mast now, he has completely recovered from the long journey from Denmark and is now almost eating and drinking normally again. And with Gerald Mossé's positive comment on top, I couldn't be more satisfied about the preparations", Poulsen says.
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Dano-Mast arrives at Sha Tin
(02.12.08) Saturday morning Dano-Mast and German co-traveller Paolini arrived at The Hong Kong International Airport after a safe journey from Amsterdam. Dano-Mast's trainer Flemming Poulsen was happy about the way his horse had travelled: "He has never been a perfect horse for travelling, but I can't complain this trip at all. The only thing I can put my finger on, is that he didn't eat at all before arriving at Sha Tin, but after settling in his new surroundings he is almost back to normal again", the trainer commented.
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Dano-Mast and Flemming Poulsen arrives in Amsterdam
(02.12.06) 7 a.m. this morning trainer Flemming Poulsen and Dano-Mast arrived in Amsterdam, the Capital of Holland, after travelling 13 hours with Mikkel's Hestetransport from Copenhagen. "The trip down here went great, and right now Dano-Mast is standing in a box waiting to board the airplane, which will take off at 4 p.m. this afternoon", Flemming Poulsens says from the Dutch airport. Dano-Mast will travel together with German Hong Kong Cup-contender Paolini on the 13 hour-flight.
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Grandera works well in Hong Kong
(02.12.04) The hot favourite for The 2002 Hong Kong Cup (Gr.1), Godolphin's Grandera, was working well on the turf at Sha Tin Racecourse on tuesday. The son of Grand Lodge worked with stable mate Atlantis Prince and covered 1200m, recording a final section time at 22,7 seconds, which really pleased his connections. Grandera is the highest rated horse in the Cup-field, and already the winner of The Singapore International (Gr.1) and Irish Champion Stakes (Gr.1) this year, he will without a doubt be installed as major favourite in the 2000m contest.
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Cellini will replace White Heart in The Hong Kong Cup (Gr.1)
(02.12.03) American challenger White Heart has been withdrawn from The 2002 Hong Kong Cup following tiredness upon his start in the grade 2 Citation Handicap at Hollywood Park last Saturday. Trainer Neil Drysdale said that even though his horse made a terrific effort as third in the race behind Good Journey and Seinne, he wouldn't be able to make the trip to Hong Kong. Drysdale will still be represented in the race by recent Japan Cup-runner up Sarafan. As a replacement for White Heart The Hong Kong Jockey Club has chosen the Peter Chapple-Hyam trained Cellini to run in the 2,3 million US$ contest. Cellini, who will represent Hong Kong, is officially rated 99, which makes him the lowest ranked horse in the field.
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Dano-Mast has only lost once at distances below 2200m
(02.12.03) Going through Dano-Mast's performance record shows that the 6-y-o has only lost one career start on distances below 2200m. Only defeat was in the horse's debut at 1800m, when he missed several lenghts in the beginning of the race but still came in second. Victories from 1600-2200 include The Danish Jockey Club Cup (L) twice, Pokalløb (L) twice, and The 2002 Prix Dollar (Gr.2) at Longchamp.
The average winning distance for Dano-Mast is 1955m.
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HorseForm on the Hong Kong Cup (Gr.1)-contenders
(02.12.02) The Hong Kong Jockey Club has now created a database of all the contenders in The Hong Kong Internationa Races at Sha Tin on December 15th.
Click here to look through the database.
To read about Dano-Mast and his opponents, please select the 'The Hong Kong Cup'.
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Departure on Thursday
(02.12.02) Dano-Mast and trainer Flemming Poulsen will head for Hong Kong on Thursday evening. The pair will be transported to Amsterdam by Mikkel's Hestetransport, where the airplane is set to depart at 12.45 Friday noon. Estimated traveltime from Amsterdam is app. 13 hours.
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Last work-out before departure
(02.12.02) Monday morning Dano-Mast made his last work-out before his departure to Hong Kong. For the first time work-rider Luis Villarroel really asked the 6-y-o to stretch down the straight, and the horse responded really well. "It's getting colder in Copenhagen now, and the sand track is not the same as earlier, so we had to take extra care around the last bend. But as soon as Dano-Mast hit the straight he stretched out and covered the last 200 metres in perfect shape", trainer Flemming Poulsen commented.
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Dano-Mast blow-out says 'Hong Kong here I come'
(02.11.29) Dano-Mast made his second last piece of work-out Friday morning at the sand on Copenhagen Racecourse, and the horse left trainer Flemming Poulsen and work-rider Luis Villarroel with nothing but extreme confidence. "He gallopped very well again today, allthough he is still a little bit too fresh. I feel that he needs another work before travelling to Hong Kong", Luis Villarroel commented afterwards. Flemming Poulsen is sure the horse's form is now the same as before the Prix Dollar (Gr.2) in October: "He's improving all the time, and todays work gave me a feeling he is almost where I want him to be. He will work again Monday morning, his last effort before the journey to Hong Kong on Thursday".
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Timeform gives Dano-Mast 120 in latest rating
(02.11.28) The world's leading horse racing publisher, Timeform, has officially given Dano-Mast a rating of 120 in their latest update. Timeform rated Dano-Mast 119 after his win in the Group 2 Prix Dollar, but the company has now highered the horse's rating according to Prix Dollar-3rd Eagle Café's win in the Group 1 Japan Cup Dirt last Saturday. "It is our conviction that the form of this year's Prix Dollar-contenders is better than first estimated, and Eagle Café's effort in Japan concludes our re-evaluation", a spokesman from Timeform commented on Thursday.
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Next work-out scheduled for Friday morning
(02.11.28) Dano-Mast is scheduled for a prepairing work-out on Friday morning at 9 a.m. on the sand track at Klampenborg. Trainer Flemming Poulsen says the horse has been very well since his latest work, and he is still getting stronger for every day. Dano-Mast will as usual be ridden by Spanish jockey Luis Villarroel, this year third in the Jockeys' Championships at Copenhagen Racecourse.
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Dano-Mast promising in latest work-out
(02.11.27) Dano-Mast made a promising appearance in his latest work-out. Trainer Flemming Poulsen said, there was much improvement in the 6-y-o horse from last Friday, where he did his first serious work since winning the Group 2 Prix Dollar in October. "I was not fully satisfied about the way he worked last Friday, because he blew a lot afterwards. But this time he came along nicely and actually showed a bit of the same form as before we went to France", the trainer commented on Wednesday. Dano-Mast was both times accompagnied by Luis Villarroel - the jockey who brought the horse to victory in this years Pokalløb (L) at Klampenborg.
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The contenders for The 2002 Hong Kong Cup (Gr.1)
(02.11.27) The richest Turf race in the world over 2000m will hold a total of 14 contenders, with International superstar Grandera from the Godolphin-team as hot favourite. Grandera is the current leader of the World Racing Series, a status he has earned by winning both The Singapore International (Gr.1) and The Irish Champion Stakes (Gr.1) this season. Another contender in the race is the American horse Sarafan, who lost the Japan Cup (Gr.1) by a nose last Sunday in Tokyo. Japanese top performer Eishin Preston won the Hong Kong Mile (Gr.1) last season, and is now aimed at the 'Cup'.
Representing Germany is the Dual Group-1 winner Paolini, trained by Andreas Wöhler. Paolini has travelled across the seas before, though he has never raced in Hong Kong. Black Type-winners Indian Creek and Ulundi will represent Great Britain, and the two horses have been trained especially with the Hong Kong Cup (Gr.1) in mind.

The 14 selected Hong Kong and Overseas Horses include:

Hong Kong Cup (Gr.1) - 2000m Turf - 15th of December 2002