Pins Gelding Too Strong in Hong Kong Sprint

 Purton drove Aerovelocity to the early lead from Australian hope Buffering. When the game Mossman gelding began to show distress 300 metres out, Aerovelocity kept up a relentless gallop to defeat Peniaphobia (Ire) (Dandy Man) by a neck with Japan's Straight Girl (Jpn) (Fuji Kiseki) three-quarters of a length in third with Gordon Lord Byron fourth. Buffering finished sixth. (photo HKJC)

It takes the overall record of Aerovelocity to 8 wins, 3 seconds and 1 third from 15 starts.

"At the furlong marker he wanted to hang in and get up on the fence, which is a trait of his, but he wanted to do it more so today than he had done previously, so I was a bit worried that he was going to take the fence on, rather than go forward," Purton said

I managed to keep him off it enough and keep him going forward. It was a tough effort.

 "It wasn't the plan to go and lead," he went on, "but when you jump that well and the opportunity is there, you have to take it. I have led on him previously and he can be ridden like that, so I wasn't worried about it. It took him about a year to settle in here, and as you can see he can be a bit of a head case. Once he started to enjoy it, his racing began to improve."

 Trainer Paul O'Sullivan said: "He got a nice run, he got left alone in front, it was a good ride on a good horse. It has been a long time since the last big one, so hopefully we won't have to wait so long for the next one. You get one good horse and it can turn it all around."

Lance O'Sullivan purchased Aerovelocity for $120,000 at the 2010 Karaka Premier Sale from Windsor Park Stud.

He made one start for in New Zealand for trainer Andrew Scott when known as Naisoso Warrior before being sold to Hong Kong.

Bred by Windsor Park Stud's Nelson Schick and Steve Till, Aerovelocity is out of winning mare Exodus (Kaapstad), a sister to Group 2 winner Kapitain Kash (Kaapstad) and half-sister to Listed winner Dante's Paradiso (Danske).

This is the hugely successful Windsor Park family of Nimue, Sirstaci, Smiling Like and Eurostar.

Aerovelocity is the final foal of Exodus who died at the age of ten in February 2010.