Thunder Man ready to roll
Very soft conditions prevailed at the Sha Tin trials yesterday and many of the runners failed to come to grips with the conditions, but Ricky Yiu Poon-fie's handy griffin Thunder Man ploughed through the going with ease.
Only a two-year-old Thunder Man finished a very narrow second in the third heat to David Oughton's year-older Cool Swing. Neither horse was really asked for a full effort and the pair cleared out from their rivals. Thunder Man has been on the improve in his races and the trial suggested he has come on further for his next assignment.
Behind them, the only run of note was from Whata Feeling from the David Hayes yard. A son of Geiger Counter, Whata Feeling showed good natural speed before he was dragged back out of contention by Craig Williams from the halfway mark in what has been a familiar training pattern with Hayes' two-year-olds.
The John Size magic has yet to take effect on Ace Academy but the trainer got serious with him in the opening heat on the all-weather surface.
Size horses almost invariably have a quiet time in the final stages of their trials, but after being well back early, Shane Dye sent Ace Academy long at the business end of things to give him some focus which has just been missing in recent races.
Ace Academy ran out the winner of the only heat on the all-weather but perhaps better propositions finished behind him, especially Shining Gem from the Geoff Lane stable. Shining Gem simply coasted along to keep in touch during the trial and would have skipped away to win it had Eric Legrix wished. Instead he kept the promising young horse well on the bridle in third and stablemate Chater Jade was also given an easy time in fifth after leading up.
Tony Cruz sent out the fourth trial winner, Noble Hero, who moved nicely and is ready to improve on his race form. Cruz's youngster Country Boy trialled much better to finish fifth to The Achiever in the final heat.
SHA TIN TRIAL RESULTS
First trial _ 1,050m (dirt): 1, ACE ACADEMY (R. S. Dye); 2, Tambora Star (S. K. Sit); 3, Shining Gem (E. Legrix). Others (in finishing order): Valuate, Chater Jade, Glorious Winner, Classic Rizzi, Mark Of Excellence, High Hill Forest, Extraordinary, Mansfield Star, New Dynasty. Time: 1:01.9 (22.7). Distances: 2 lengths, head. Winner trained by John Size.
Second trial _ 1,000m (turf): 1, WINNING SUNSHINE (W. C. Marwing); 2, Always Zieten (D. Whyte); 3, Getmore Dancer (D. Dunn). Others (in finishing order): Xlerate, Excel Trader, Glorious Victory, Magic Touch, Infinite. Time: 1:00.1 (23.6). Distances: Neck, 1.5 lengths. Winner trained by Ricky Yiu Poon-fai.
Third trial _ 1,000m (turf): 1, COOL SWING (D. Whyte); 2, Thunder Man (W. C. Marwing); 3, Keen Marshal (B. Fayd'herbe). Others (in finishing order): Engineering Wonder, Flash Mac, Amazing, Whata Feeling, O Rei, Handsome Dragon, Lucky Bird, Major Bee. Time: 1:00.0 (23.8). Distances: Short head, 7 lengths. Winner trained by David Oughton.
Fourth trial _ 1,000m (turf): 1, NOBLE HERO (C. H. Tse); 2, Honour Supreme (K. C. Tsang); 3, Escalation (B. Fayd'herbe). Others (in finishing order): Lucky Time, Super Best, Enterprise Star, Windfalls, Just Too Good, Golden Tactics, Wealth Star, Shiny, Prince Golf. Time: 1:00.4 (24.2). Distances: 3 lengths, 1 length. Winner trained by Tony Cruz.
Fifth trial _ 1,000m (turf): 1, THE ACHIEVER (B. Fayd'herbe); 2, Heaven Can Wait (D. Whyte); 3, Hong Kong Star (Y. T. Cheng). Others (in finishing order): Craig's Ha Ha, Country Boy, Plenty Of Surprise, Entente, Triumphant Glory, Truly Content, Mr Hector, Forever Charming. Time: 1:00.1 (24.1). Distances: .5 length, 2 lengths. Winner trained by Tony Millard.
