Hayes has Size in his sights after catching Cruz
Former dual champion Hong Kong trainer David Hayes strode up to join Tony Cruz in the standings yesterday with a double but both still have their work cut out pegging back the reigning king, John Size.
Hayes has produced a surging run in the past six weeks to draw level with Cruz on 50 wins and within sight of reigning champion Size (59) after lagging behind sharply during the middle of the season.
While Size also added to his tally yesterday with In The Bank (Shane Dye) to keep the chasers at a respectful distance in his quest for a third Hong Kong title from as many attempts, Hayes remains hopeful he can make a race of it over the final seven weeks.
'I don't know if I can beat John but I reckon I can get close,' Hayes said after Super Dana (Gerald Mosse) and Always Welcome (Dye) won races early on yesterday's card. 'I think I was giving a double-figure start to Tony Cruz at one point during February or March so it's been a good run to get back level with him. We're all getting low on ammunition at this stage of the season but if I can keep chipping away, you never know what might happen.'
Hayes has probably won more Class Five races this year than is usual for him and Super Dana broke his maiden status at his 10th start after sitting wide all the way around the 1,800-metre course in the Williams Cup.
'No ambitious plans for Super Dana. He's a Class Five horse basically and won his race,' Hayes said. 'It's not impossible that with a light weight he could get away with one of those weak Class Four staying races you see from time to time but in general Super Dana will find it tough in the next grade.'
Dye did a great deal of Hayes' stable riding in his first Hong Kong season but his win on Always Welcome was the first successful partnership between the two since the 2001-2002 season.
'Quite a nice win actually,' Dye said. 'I always intended to use his speed and see if I could get forward on the horse and he had enough pace to cross over from barrier 13 but was strong enough to hold them off at the finish.'
Likewise, Size-trained In The Bank did it the tough way, working forward from his 13 barrier to sit outside the lead then outgunned those chasing to take his record to two wins from three starts and he appears a nice prospect.
'When he won at Happy Valley, the margin was not big but I think I said at the time that the tight track didn't really suit him,' Size said yesterday. 'He was a lot more comfortable going around this course today and also going up to 1,400 metres probably was a help. At Happy Valley, he worked a bit early and then fought on strongly and it was another tough win here today. He is still a bit green and I think there's plenty of improvement in him. In The Bank looks a decent horse for next season.'
