Let’s just look back on Wednesday’s racing at Happy Valley for a sec: Were you REALLY impressed with the win of Mentor? To beat Green Zone which raced in Sydney as Sparkle- a pretty ordinary horse compared to all the hype heaped on Mentor’s shoulders is nothing to leap up and down about. Plus it won by only half-a-length and with some typically hard riding by Darren Beadman. Take Beadman away, and I reckon, Green Zone if it had Tye Angland aboard it, could have reversed the positions. I really don’t think Mentor is one of those Super Size horses like Fay Fay or Glorious Days.
As for the rides on Wednesday, oh dear, what the hell was Terry CW Wong doing on Tony Cruz’s Let’s Goal and we’ll wait and see what happens to Alex HW Lai who seems to have lost his way after his Group 1 win in Japan and HIS ride on Common Goal which, interestingly, runs again today. Hmmmm. Perhaps it has something to prove? Jeez, all these goals! As far as I am concerned, both jockeys should be forced to watch the brilliant ride by Gerard Mosse aboard the Cruz runner Pure Champion and which really looks as if the horse has turned the corner and is everything many thought it was.
[NOTE: Common Goal came up to win Race 6 and ended up third]
I have to also wonder if Douglas Whyte regrets not sticking with this galloper instead of jumping ship to ride Ambitious Dragon. Pure Champion now looks to be on the up-and-up and has forged a partnership with Mosse whereas we all have to wait and see how and when Ambitious Dragon comes out of its sudden slump in form. One has to wonder if Maxime Guyon ran the very impressive into the round after that shocking ride on the horse. Just wondering out aloud and also wondering if this might be the last time Hong Kong sees Guyon on a short-term riding stint. He is no longer the Pinup Boy of racing with the public- and they are a fickle lot.
Today at Shatin, we see the return of Douglas Whyte after serving a three-day suspension and who seems to be easing himself back to racing after a break with the family in Tuscany by not having a full book of rides. In fact, he has only six rides and with chances on all, especially Aomen [Race 2,1], perhaps Nicholson for David Hall [Race 4, 8] in a very ordinary looking race, plus G-One Winning [Race 5, 6] though Twin Turbo from the Richard Gibson yard will be very hard to beat. There is also, of course, the very impressive Tuxedo in Race 8 which should win with a leg in the air and Whyte is not without chances with his other two rides- Rich Unicorn and Dragon Ride, one of his rare rides for Almond Lee. I’d be VERY surprised if he doesn’t leave the track without, at least, two winners.
[Note: Despite Aomen missed the start and flopped, Whyte won on Nicholson and G-One Winning with this horse and Twin Turbo running a quinella place]
Apart from Whyte, there is the running of The Kent And Curwen Centenary Sprint Cup and it looks like a trippy affair as there is Sacred Kingdom which just might be on the downward slide though only a fool would ignore it. Lucky Nine tackles the 1000 meters for the first time- and, maybe, a softies track- also for the first time- as there was rain all of last night- and might just come on from this run and when trainer Caspar Fownes enters it for either a 1200 or 1400 meters race with Brett Preble aboard.
The one which I like is Little Bridge with Danny Shum calling on the services of Gerard Mosse- Shum also has At Moment In Time with Maxime Guyon on it and is no slouch- while John Moore comes triple-handed into the race with Sunny King [Tim Clark], Final Answer [Darren Beadman] and Let Me Fight {Jeff Lloyd]. I’ll take a chance and go for Little Bridge on top along with At Moment In Time and that great old horse- Joy And Fun- which possibly might be able to show the “young ones” a thing or two though it needs longer.
[Note: The eight-year-old Joy And Fun came second at almost 20 to 1! Lucky Nine was not sighted and is definitely looking for longer while Sacred Kingdom ran a good race to end up fourth.]
Also needing to show Hong Kong a thing or two such as winners are trainers Sean Woods and David Ferraris. Both have come close to leading in more winners but close is not good enough. Today, Woods has a chance to break his drought with Royal Doctor and Free Judgment while the unlucky Ferraris who really should have had a winner with the equally unlucky Chatter Mikado on Wednesday, has a chance with Samos. This galloper has promised much and has yet to really deliver though it looked very good at its last start when second to the very good Fay Fay- and with a chequered run in the race.
[NOTE: Sean Woods’ Royal Doctor came second, but that was about as much luck as he could muster]
The horse goes very well for jockey Tye Angland and though, it faces quite strong competition from horses like Helene Spirit, Dragon Ride, Free Judgment, perhaps Voile Rouge which John Size backs up quickly and has ten-pound claimer Alvin Ng on it, and possibly even the Richard Gibson newcomer, Beauty Lead. The problem is that Ferraris- The Hoarse Whisperer- is so bloody unlucky. If he were a jockey, owners would want him to get his head shaved so his fung shui will change and “new” good luck can “grow back”. Then again, many know how proud Ferraris is of his head of hair.
The one horse I have no time for in this race is Turf Express. It was ordinary in Sydney and it’s ordinary here. I will also not even look at Best Eleven which was also very ordinary when racing in NSW but which Tony Cruz has transformed into something close to a race horse. Still, I continue to have doubts about this horse.
[Note: The Guru will have to eat his words tonight- along with his curry. Best Eleven upset the race favourite Tuxedo and Turf Express ran second. As for David Ferraris, yes, he had better shave his hair off. Semos, the favourite of the race, ran a stinker of a race and, as some of our Chinese friends said, is more “See Fat”- meaning “asshole” than Semos]
As for the race meeting, it looks pretty straight-forward on paper- but looks can be deceiving- and those all-weather races are always fraught with danger- and upsets. I worry about these races, the Sprint Cup and Race 4. On “form” Nicholson and Prosperity look the ones to beat- but are they? Darren Beadman keeps the ride on last-start winner- the John Size-trained Prosperity- and which had a soft lead for an all-the-way win after getting a soft lead. If Beadman wins on the horse again, does it mean Beadman retains the ride- as long as he isn’t needed for a ride for his “boss” for the moment- John Moore? And will the ride then go back to Whyte? It all looks a bit messy. With regards to Nicholson, it has had two hard runs in pretty quick session and I have to wonder if it will be under the odds and only a place chance at best. Connoisseur’s Pick is the one which I keep coming back to all the time.
[Note: Douglas Whyte won on Nicholson and, despite backing for it, Prosperity led but then knocked up and came fourth].
Personally, I’ll be looking at the third Triple Trio and taking Aomen and Tuxedo as my standouts in a 3X1 and 4X1 all-up Win Bets and looking at a number of Richard Gibson runners, Gerard Mosse or Tye Angland to upset Whyte and take out the Jockeys Challenge and Neil Callan to possibly win the first race of the day aboard Glory Win.
[NOTE: Trainer Richard Gibson trained a double and had one placing, Mosse The Moose had a winner while Tye Angland, who is riding in cracking form, rode a double. Douglas Whyte won the Jockeys Challenge- but only just.]
Good luck and tread wearily. The weather looks like being as unpredictable as “Sure Things.”
The Guru
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