Leung just waiting to Strike
Cool Strike can be marked down as an imminent Class Five winner the way he hit the line in yesterday's third of five trials down the Sha Tin straight.
The Andy Leung Ting-wah-trained gelding came from just beyond mid-division to win by a solid two lengths from Ricky Yiu Poon-fie's private-purchase griffin Spectacular Win.
Cool Strike has failed to stay a mile to 1,800 metres but last time put in a promising effort when dropped back to 1,400 metres.
He was also racing down in Class Five and would surely have gone closer but struck a race which didn't suit in that there was a stack of speed in it.
His usual run style has been to go forward, unlike in yesterday's trial. His run style was all against him last time when third to Canadian Champ and Flying Tiger, as there was too much pace in the race.
It is only a matter of time before he encounters a much softer contest with not so much speed.
When he does so, he's going to be very hard to beat.
It is also worth noting that Leung seems to follow traditional training patterns.
When his horses are down a grade, they are always worth more than a second look, especially his less-exposed types which drop from Class Four to Class Five.
Cool Strike's overall time of 59.9 seconds was the session's fastest.
The fastest final quarter of 22.9s came from Geoff Lane's River Dance, who ran on well under Eric Legrix to take the opening heat by a neck from Peter Ho's improving sprinter Handbag Dragon, who had led comfortably for almost the entire trip.
TRIALS First trial _ 1,000m: 1, RIVER DANCE (E. Legrix); 2, Handbag Dragon (E. St-Martin); 3, Triumphant Feeling (Y. T. Cheng). Others (in finishing order): Stinger, The Best Winner, High Sky, Just On, Satisfaction Smile, Fortune River, Supreme Bases, World Star, Word Of Honour, Accuracy. Time: 1:00.2 (22.9). Distances: neck, .75 length. Winner trained by Geoff Lane.
Second trial _ 1,000m: 1, SINCERE AND FAITH (B. Doyle); 2, Bear With Me (E. Legrix); 3, Pakistan Hero (W. M. Lai). Others: Diamond Talents, Call My Tune, New Trumps, Playing Hours, Leading Stride, Kristofferson, V154, Comfort, Ever Bold, Iskra. Time: 1:01.1 (23.5). Distances: 1 length, head. Winner trained by Andy Leung Ting-wah.
Third trial _ 1,000m: 1, COOL STRIKE (B. Doyle); 2, Spectacular Win (K. H. Yu); 3, Easy Money (R. Fradd). Others: Kowloon's Blessing, V176, Partiking, Full Throttle, Majesty, Chater Jade, Owners' Glory, Charlie's Angel, Oh My Darling. Time: 0:59.9 (23.4). Distances: 2 lengths, .5 length. Winner trained by Andy Leung Ting Wah.
Fourth trial _ 1,000m: 1, V131 (S. King); 2, Bonanza (E. Legrix); 3, Fibber (B. Doyle). Others: Blessings' Partner, Kimbo Bell, Time To Surf, V168, Magic Lance, Have A Good Time, Zietengo Boy, Elegance, Golden Warrior, V054. Time: 1:01.0 (23.7). Distances: head, 2 lengths. Winner trained by Ricky Yiu Poon-fai.
Fifth trial _ 1,000m: 1, DOUBLE MARTINI (R. Fradd); 2, Trusty Steed (K. S. Yu); 3, Flight Of Fancy (W. Woods). Others: American Win, V150, V096, V056, V149, Hurray, Optic Chief, Connoisseur's Bet, V134, Lead To Win. Time: 1:01.5 (24.0). Distances: 1.5 lengths, .5 length. Winner trained by John Moore.
