Andrea Atzeni stars with Sha Tin quartet
Andrea Atzeni’s surge up the Hong Kong jockeys’ championship gained further impetus at Sha Tin on Sunday when the Italian produced a career-best quartet in Hong Kong, while Fast Network (Wrote) claimed the day’s feature to underline Ka Ying Rising’s (Shamexpress) supreme quality.
Atzeni triumphed on He Was Me (Needs Further) (119lb) for Tony Cruz in the Class 5 Somerset Handicap (1400m), Manfred Man’s Juicy Dragon (Territories) (117lb) in the first section of the Class 4 Rutland Handicap (1200m), David Hall’s Good Chap (Deep Field) (125lb) in the second section of the Class 4 Rutland Handicap (1200m) and John Size’s Endued (Deep Field) (122lb) in the Class 3 Kowloon Tong Club Trophy Handicap (1600m) to move to 35 wins for the campaign.
Only eight-time champion jockey Zac Purton (84) and Hugh Bowman (39) have ridden more winners this season than Atzeni, who also recorded a second and two thirds from 11 rides this afternoon to underscore his impressive consistency.
“I had good rides but, as you know, it doesn’t always work out. I’ve had a good day. The two horses on the All Weather track had great chances. Tony’s had a chance too and the only question with Endued was the draw [barrier 14].
“I’m picking nice rides and the support is coming. You know what it’s like here – you can never look back; you have to keep looking forward.”
Endued, who is nominated for the HK$26 million BMW Hong Kong Derby (Listed, 2000m) on March 22, earned a PP Bonus of HK$1.5 million with a brave performance after crossing the field from the outside barrier to take the lead and hang on by a head from Smart Avenue (Shamus Award) (124lb).
Fast Network (135lb) was rewarded for a pair of minor placings behind superstar sprinter Ka Ying Rising with deserved success in the HK$3.72 million Class 1 Essex Handicap (1200m) for Dennis Yip and Zac Purton.
Third behind Ka Ying Rising in both December’s Hong Kong Sprint (Gr 1, 1200m) and the Centenary Sprint Cup (Gr 1, 1200m) on January 25, Fast Network settled fifth on the fence before Purton coolly weaved a winning passage to down Sky Trust (So You Think) (114lb) and Invincible Shield (I Am Invincible) (121lb) in 1m 08.28s.
“It was a really nice win, he’s been consistent all season and he was in a race today where he drew barrier one and there was a bit of speed, so there were some things to help him but it’s always really difficult to carry top weight in these races against some nice young horses,” Purton said.
“He still had to turn up but he did it in pretty soft fashion.”
Yip said: “Everybody knows that Ka Ying Rising is too strong, everywhere in the world, but my horse is really consistent. I think this race, my horse was only 80 per cent.”
Tony Cruz will target the HK$4.2 million Premier Plate Handicap (Gr 3, 1800m) in June with Stunning Peach (Wootton Bassett) (125lb) after the Irish import continued an impressive form resurgence with success in the HK$3.12 million Class 2 Devon Handicap (1800m) under Angus Chung.
“I believe this horse is potentially a Group horse; I believe he can win a Group 3,” Cruz said. “Today, Angus rode a perfect race. There’s a handicap race coming up over 1800 metres again – 100-rating down – and I’m going to run in those kinds of races.
“The race I’m aiming at is at the end of the season, the Premier Plate. Let’s see what he does then.”
Cruz later sealed a treble when Winning Ovation (Cotai Glory) (131lb) – who returned this afternoon following 308 days between runs – sauntered to a comfortable win in the Class 3 Cumberland Handicap (1400m) under Alexis Badel.
Frankie Lor’s blazing March form continued with Run Run Sunrise’s (Capitalist) (127lb) success in the Class 4 Suffolk Handicap (1000m) under Derek Leung. Clocking 56.87s, the Capitalist (Written Tycoon) gelding provided Lor with his ninth victory of the month.
“We put the ear plugs and the tongue tie on him, and he looked much better – quieter and more relaxed,” Lor said. “In the morning, he’s quite nervous and very strong in the cantering, the gear change has really helped with that.”
Francis Lui’s The Golden Knight (Impending) (130lb) claimed the Class 4 Norfolk Handicap (1600m) from Master Trillion (Mendelssohn) (135lb) on protest after jockey James Orman and trainer Francis Lui lodged an objection, with their horse losing momentum when going for a run near the 300 metres before failing by a head to catch Master Trillion.
Orman sealed a brace when the David Hall-trained Magnifique (Charm Spirit) (132lb) swept to victory in the Class 3 Cornwall Handicap (1200m) – registering his fifth win from only seven starts.
“He’s a nice horse, any horse who can win five races in seven starts is pretty good and I’m pretty sure he should have won last start as well after a wide run,” Orman said of Magnifique.
“With [the successful objection] with The Golden Knight, it’s not the way you want to win but I believe he should have won and you have to do the right things by connections.”
Yee Cheong Glory (Puissance De Lune) (134lb) slotted his second course and distance win for Jamie Richards when Hugh Bowman delivered the grey with precision to clinch the Class 4 Kent Handicap (1200m).
“Yee Cheong Glory has been racing well. His last run, I thought, was really good and he had the sweet draw in barrier two and the pace was good,” Bowman said.
“He enjoyed being held up, actually. I was held up and disappointed for room at a vital stage, but we didn’t panic and the horse was full of running and it provided him with a good opportunity to show what he was capable of and he didn’t let us down.”
Hong Kong racing continues at Happy Valley on Wednesday, March 11.