Love Match can bring happiness to punters
EQUITRACK freak Love Match, with champion jockey Basil Marcus astride, looks a safe banker bet in the second leg of the Double Trio at Happy Valley tomorrow night.
With racing swinging back into action after an unusual blank weekend, there will be plenty of attention focused on this seven-event card and the popular DT should benefit accordingly.
Love Match is a Class Three galloper allowed to compete in a lower grade because of his present rating and it does put the rising eight-year-old in with a solid chance.
The David Hill-trained gelding has had the benefit of one outing at the city track already this season, finishing just over four lengths from the winner at huge odds in a 1,235-metre event.
That was not the trip or the surface for Love Match but he will have benefited considerably from the outing.
Topweight Royal Pride has been backed and beaten on too many occasions now to suggest he is anything other than a real risk. Claimer W.L. Ho, seen to advantage on Profit Taker last week, takes over but it must be arguable about the 10lb making much difference.
Call Me Horse has yet to win after three years of trying. However, he is definitely a DT chance off his light weight with Francis K.S. Lam up.
Brandski will be better for his first run over 1,400 metres and is another worth including here. Mick Kinane takes the ride and he has been in the frame over this trip in the past.
Turf Apex proved too strong for Ellen's Voyage last time out over 1,400 metres on equitrack but the pair came well clear of the rest. It was run good enough to suggest that Ellen's Voyage will take a major hand in the outcome of the first leg of the DT tomorrow night.
Maximum claimer W.M. Lai, another useful lad, takes over from Jimmy K.H. Ting and as he is worth the allowance, this does bring the Ng Ting-leung galloper very firmly into contention.
But he certainly does have topweight Kwacha to beat. The John Moore-trained galloper finished a neck second over 1,400 metres last time, going under to How Free.
He will lump a lot of weight tomorrow night which could make the task difficult against Ellen's Voyage but in-form John Marshall has the ride and the pair will be in the frame.
