Native Language earns top marks in notebook

While trackwork has been relatively quiet over the Christmas period, six barrier trials were held at Happy Valley last weekend and one who was put in the notebook was Ricky Yiu Poon-fie's Native Language, who led all the way in the fourth heat after showing plenty of early dash. The striking son of Royal Academy clocked the quickest time over the minimum 1,000-metre trip and clearly looks an above-average sort.

Ivan Allan's Joyous Cheers rallied gamely in second and, while the lightly-framed son of Housebuster may need to put on some condition, he leaves the impression that he is a late-maturing individual and there should be plenty of improvement to come.

Lawrie Fownes' yard figured prominently at the trials and Paobridge moved very well in winning the third heat. The lightly-raced son of Coronation Day hit the line strongly under Wendyll Woods and his winning ways are far from over.

Fownes also took the second heat with Acclamation, who once again displayed plenty of zest in his work. The powerful son of Mellifont had also shown plenty of promise in his work leading up to his debut, where he was something of a disappointment, but he should be given another chance.

Peter Ho's Always Zieten was also quite impressive in the same heat. After settling near the rear of the field, he finished off well in the final quarter with a little urging from John Egan.

Eddie Lo's Green Century has been somewhat disappointing this term, but the well-bred son of Danehill won the first heat over 1,700 metres. It would appear that Lo has a longer-distance event mapped out for the former griffin and that could well be exactly what he is looking for.

In the same heat both Jade Ruyi and Grand Star finished off in a positive manner and appear to be working in good order. Andy Leung Ting-wah appears to have taken a little time to get Grand Star back to the peak of condition and, while he flopped on his latest outing, he appears in better shape now.

Alex Wong Yu-on's Bumper Supreme won a steadily-run fifth heat with stablemate Spring Love in third. The latter has not shown much in his three race starts but appears to be working better following his recent transfer to Wong's yard. Fownes' Sparky was full of running at the end and finished on the heels of the principals.

The final heat was won by Derek Cruz's Smart Winner, who appears to be in tip-top shape at present and was given a decent hit-out by Steven King. Probably the best trial in terms of relative ratings was run by Ho's Inventor, who has not been performing that well of late but was always on the speed and appears to be showing a little more zest now.

ONE TO NOTE: Native Language.

SATURDAY'S HAPPY VALLEY TURF TRIALS

First trial - 1,700m: 1, GREEN CENTURY (O. Doleuze); 2, Specific Sorceror (D. Dunn); 3, Jade Ruyi (J. Egan). Others (in finishing order): Grand Star, Metro Traveller, Lucky Supreme, Allez Allez, Pretty Baby, Naturally King, Namjong Beauty, Caviar One. Time: 1:51.5 (23.0). Distances: short head, 1 length. Winner trained by Eddie Lo.

Second trial - 1,200m: 1, ACCLAMATION (W. Woods); 2, Always Zieten (J. Egan), Animated Plaything (E. Legrix). Others: Tussaud, Goldchin Best, Getmore Dancer, Amo, swaggie, Goldie, Mr Beautiful. Time: 1:14.7 (22.7). Distances: 2 lengths, 1 length. Winner trained by Lawrie Fownes.

Third trial - 1,200m: 1, PAOBRIDGE (W. Woods); 2, Golden Air (R. Fradd); 3, Rare Collection (W. C. Marwing). Others: Fibber, Sunseen, Tekon Perfect, Rangeela, Sprinter, High Potential, Hidden Talent. Time: 1:12.8 (23.3) Distance: 5 lengths, 1 length. Winner trained by Lawrie Fownes.

Fourth trial - 1,000m: 1, NATIVE LANGUAGE (W. C. Marwing); 2, Joyous Cheers, (Y. T. Cheng); 3, Qui Vivra Verra (M. W. Leung). Others: Insightoreality, Sing A Song, Excel Trader, Truly The Best, Mansfield Star, Butterford, Goodwood. Time: 1:00.4 (23.7). Distances: 1.5 lengths, 10 lengths. Winner trained by Ricky Yiu.

Fifth trial - 1,000m: 1, BUMPER SUPREME (E. Legrix); 2, Strongheart (D. Whyte); 3, Spring Love (Y. T. Cheng). Others: Sparky, Scholarship, Joyful Spirit, Touch Of Class, Southern Treasure, Try Your Best, Golden Stride. Time: 1:02.2 (25.3). Distances: .5 length, 1 length. Winner trained by Alex Wong Yu-on.

Sixth trial - 1,000m: 1, SMART WINNER (S. King); 2, Inventor (J. Egan); 3, Trillion Win (W. C. Marwing). Others: My Delight, Jokers Wild, Dynamic Winnings, Epic Expression, Supreme Goliath, Over Subscribe. Time: 1:00.7 (25.6). Distances: 1 length, 4 lengths. Winner trained by Derek Cruz.

FRIDAY'S SHA TIN DIRT TRIALS

First trial - 1,200m: 1, ROYAL ARMY (A. Suborics); 2, China World (S. K. Sit); 3, King Of Fish (R. Fradd). Others (in finishing order): Magical Warrior, Temmoku, Truly Happy, Vajra, Winmark, A Candy, Trusty Steed, Red Lancer, Ambitious Tycoon. Time: 1:12.8 (24.8). Distances: .5 length, 3 length. Winner trained by Andy Leung Ting-wah.

Second trial - 1,200m: 1, FLYING BISHOP (W. C. Marwing); 2, Sun Shine River, (W. S. Yu); 3, Billion Delight (S. King). Others: Extraordinary, Hossegor, Predator, My Favourite, Billion Win, Celebration, Forever Best, Conquest Star, Eternal Start. Time: 1:11.9 (24.2). Distances: head, 1.75 lengths. Winner trained by Ricky Yiu.