Asia Latest
HK: Whyte poised to snare another Hong Kong milestone
With a record 1,813 victories in the saddle, Douglas Whyte is now only two wins short of 200 as a trainer and has four runners lining up for Saturday’s Sha Tin meeting – Link (Exosphere), Red Elegance (Toronado), Valiant Elegance (Salade) and Flaming Rabbit (Time Test) – as he looks to add to his stable’s 30 wins so far this season. A last-start Class 2 winner over 1600 metres on March 31, Flaming Rabbit stretches to 1800 metres for the first time when he contests another Class 2 handicap under regular rider Lyle Hewitson. “He’s stepping up and taking a chance,” Whyte said. “He bounced back well from a freshen-up and he won with authority last time. He’s won over a tough mile at Goodwood, so if he has a soft time of it [in front], he’ll get the 1800 metres. He’s vulnerable, but he should get the trip. He’s in good form and I took the opportunity of running him. It would be too long between runs otherwise, we would’ve had to wait for the next mile race and trial again first.” Whyte is also represented by last-start course and distance winner Valiant Elegance, who runs in a Class 4 handicap over 1200 metres for Antoine Hamelin. “He’s as honest as the day is long and he comes in with a light weight. Hopefully he can run in the money,” said Whyte. With a total of 2,011 wins as jockey and trainer, Whyte trails only Tony Cruz, who boasts 2,448 Hong Kong victories with 946 as a jockey and 1,502 as a trainer.
HK: Massive Sovereign impresses in trial
Unbeaten after a meteoric start to his Hong Kong career, Massive Sovereign (No Nay Never) tuned up for next weekend’s QEII Cup (Gr 1, 2000m) with an eye-catching Happy Valley trial on Friday morning. Allowed to settle at the tail of the field by Zac Purton, the Hong Kong Derby (Listed, 2000m) winner scythed along the inside of the ten-horse field to finish second behind Senor Toba (Toronado), who clocked 1m 50.30s over 1700 metres. “He (Massive Sovereign) did everything right, as he always does. Cruised around, enjoyed it and pulled up well,” Purton said of Dennis Yip’s Irish import. “He feels good and he’s come through his run well. Dennis gave him a nice little break after the Derby. He’s been blowing a little bit in his work, so it was nice that we had the opportunity to trial him this morning. [The QEII Cup] is an opportunity to see how he stacks up against those horses. There was nowhere else for him to go, so he has to take that step and hopefully he’s able to. We’ve got to get him to the race, in the race and see how he measures up. On ratings he’s a long way off them but he’s only at the start of his career and the other horses have been around for a while.”