Eagle Regiment is ready for revenge at the upcoming Dubai carnival.  The WA bred gelding booked his second flight to the Gulf after winning his second G1 Centenary Sprint Cup (1000m) at Sha Tin on Sunday.

Eagle Regiment (4g El Moxie – Fire Lake by Bureaucracy) was racing first-up after a year on the sidelines.  He won in arrogant style, taking the straight-course feature by the scruff of the neck when Olivier Doleuze pressed the button.

The brilliant speedster clocked 57.50s to win the 2012 Centenary Sprint Cup but was denied a start in the Al Quoz Sprint after injuring a leg in a stable accident at Meydan.  “It wasn’t really serious but we just had to give him plenty of time to rest and heal,” trainer Manfred Man said after his gelding doubled up in a much quicker 56.32s on Sunday.  “I was quite confident but one year off was the question.”

Despite the long break, Man and Doleuze had given Eagle Regiment a solid preparation.  “He was spot on after three trials,” Doleuze confirmed.  “It’s not easy to come back after such a long time away but now he can go to Dubai and then perhaps Royal Ascot.”

Eagle Regiment was bred and sold by Tracy Knotts from Sovereign Stud in Busselton.  He made $100,000 at the 2009 Perth Magic Millions and was pin-hooked for $150,000 at the 2009 Magic Millions National HIT Sale.

It’s the same El Moxie – Bureaucracy cross as Hong Kong’s former world champion sprinter Silent Witness.

Eagle Regiment is a younger half-brother to WATC Listed Supremacy Stakes winner Royal Fire.  Their dam Fire Lake has a Viscount 2yo colt that Knotts sold for $95,000 to a South African buyer at the 2012 Perth Magic Millions.

Sovereign Stud is home to NZ bred stallion Thorn Dancer (Thorn Park).  He won three races in Perth and was also G2 placed in the 2010 WA Guineas.

– Karl Patterson

EAGLE REGIMENT
Sunspeed bred sprinter wins his second G1 Centenary Sprint Cup at Sha Tin