Pierre Ng makes it five wins in two Hong Kong meetings with Happy Valley double
Buoyant after a career-best treble at Sha Tin on Sunday, Pierre Ng maintained his impressive momentum with a double at Happy Valley last night to forge to 40 wins for the season in an excellent debut campaign.
Solidifying his place in the Hong Kong trainers’ championship top ten, Ng followed Sunday’s three-timer with a pair of narrow wins by Turquoise Alpha (Excelebration) and Turin Mascot (Caravaggio) to extend an accomplished freshman season.
Turquoise Alpha posted his third win for the season, having previously struck at Sha Tin on both the turf and dirt circuits before last night’s triumph in the Class 4 Ewo Challenge Trophy Handicap (1650m) under Angus Chung.
Outlining a stable target of 45 wins by the end of the term, Ng said: “Hopefully the stable can keep going until the season ends. It [45 wins] should be manageable.”
Headed by Total Power (Dundeel) only strides from the finish line, Turin Mascot prevailed by a nose to give Ng his 39th win of the season.
“I knew he had a chance and he just got there. Hopefully, he will mature next season and he will get more straight forward so he can win by a bigger margin than tonight,” said Ng.
Ricky Yiu also enjoyed a brace, featuring Solar Partner (Zoustar) and Splendid Living (Starspangledbanner). Solar Partner made it two wins in a row with success in the second section of the Class 4 Dianthus Handicap (1200m) under Hugh Bowman before Michael Dee dictated terms on Splendid Living to win the Class 3 Chamomile Handicap (1650m).
With tomorrow’s Hong Kong International Sale fast approaching, Denfield (Deep Field) confirmed his talent with a swooping victory in the third section of the Class 4 Dianthus Handicap (1200m) for Danny Shum and Vincent Ho.
The gelding topped the 2022 Hong Kong International Sale with a bid of HK$7.8 million and had twice finished second before last night’s impressive triumph, which Shum believes will set the scene for higher future achievement.
“He’s improving, he’s more relaxed than before. Earlier this season, he wasn’t there – he’s still only three. He has a bright future next season. He should handle 1400 metres, even 1600 metres,” Shum said.
Ho closed the meeting emphatically with the brilliant win of Wonder Kit (Sooboog) in the Class 3 Violet Handicap (1200m) for Francis Lui. Unbeaten in two Australian starts as Aliboog when trained by Les Kelly, Wonder Kit trailed the leaders from barrier one before exploding clear in the finale.
Peter Ho notched his stable’s 14th success of the campaign when Keith Yeung drove Splendid Star (Deep Field) – who was unplaced in 17 previous starts – to victory in the Class 5 Camelia Handicap (1800m). Rated only 11, the gelding was having his 12th start of the season with a best finish of sixth at Sha Tin on April 9.
Ho believes the four-year-old benefited from a winning 1600-metre trial at Sha Tin on June 13.
“It’s unbelievable,” Ho said. “Actually, after the trial that he won last month – maybe he learned something from that trial. Today, he had a bit of luck because the pace was fast so he could settle at the back easily and in the back straight he just followed the horse that led him into the race.
“He carried a feather weight [115lb] and he’s only four.”
Needing two more winners at Class 4 or above to satisfy the trainers’ performance criteria of 16 wins for the season, Ho said: “I am so keen to train next season because my interest and my hobby is horses. This is why I never give up. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.”
Chung laid the foundations for his brace with a superbly judged front-running ride, allowing the Dennis Yip-trained Yeaboi (Belardo) to clinch the first section of the Class 4 Thistle Handicap (1650m) before Harry Bentley combined with Caspar Fownes to land the first section of the Class 4 Dianthus Handicap (1200m) with Young Life Forever (Exceed And Excel).