Crawford hoping for a profitable HK birthday

DEBUT: SA TRAINER SADDLES FIRST RUNNER AT SHA TIN ON SUNDAY

- Jack Milner

Buoyed by positive responses from Hong Kong owners, Brett Crawford is eyeing a dream start to his new venture when the prominent South African trainer starts Speedy Smartie at Sunday's season opener at Sha Tin.

Crawford, who has won 38 Group 1s and almost 1,500 races throughout his career, is the only addition to the Hong Kong training ranks for the 2025-26 season.

Speedy Smartie - one of 25 gallopers on Crawford's books - will be the handler's only runner on Sunday and the former Benno Yung Tin-pang-trained gelding is fresh from a trial win on the Sha Tin dirt last week.

"He trialled pretty well and he's come out of it well, so it looks like he's ready to go," said Crawford, who also celebrates his 54th birthday on Sunday.