Bear up for the challenge
Punters got the tip for tonight's Ewo Challenge Trophy (2,200m) from the season's form trophy trainer John Moore after Bear Dominance won at Happy Valley last time and should strike while the iron is hot.
Moore said it had taken him until this time of the season to get the six-year-old stayer fully fit after Bear Dominance won a Class Three over the same course, so there is every chance that the gelding is still peaking as he rises in class tonight.
Ridden then by Christophe Soumillon, Bear Dominance will lose nothing with the transition to Eric Saint-Martin (pictured) as he attempts to add to his solid course and distance record.
Nothing if not dour, Bear Dominance's only two wins have come over the Valley's longest trip and he has also been second twice in his seven attempts.
Though up in grade, Bear Dominance has always looked likely to make it to Class Two and receives weight from most of his rivals.
Surmounting the class differences between the staying ranks often seems much easier than in sprint racing, and with Dynamic Fun likely to run along boldly in the lead to make a real staying test of the race, the Ewo looks as good an entry point to Class Two as any Bear Dominance might find.
Moore has been in fabulous form all season, especially in trophy races, and is offering the strongest opposition to championship leader John Size.
The gap at the top has closed now to just three wins between the pair and, if Moore can maintain his momentum, the title race in the coming months looks a thriller.
Championships are built on getting the extra wins out of bread and butter horses like Bear Dominance, and a win for Moore might well be one denied Size, who also goes into the race with a decent hand in Dr Well (Glyn Schofield), Mighty Hugo (Gerald Mosse) and Day Or Night (Eddie Lai Wai-ming).
Nevertheless, the event looks wide open and the Derek Cruz-trained Greenessy (Howard Cheng Yue-tin) looks a threat after improving his barrier manners lately.
The gelding had been missing the jump away on a regular basis and constantly making his task more difficult than it needed to be, but looks to have lifted his game lately.
Though beaten, he has run with credit, the latest when second behind Fuji Sunrise at Sha Tin over 2,000m. He is untested at the extra 200m but Greenessy is racing more and more like a real stayer this season.
Like Bear Dominance, Greenessy is only lightly weighted and that is frequently a plus in the Valley staying events.
Successive Gains (Douglas Whyte) should appreciate the return to his preferred Happy Valley course. He rarely runs a bad race at the city track and was a strong-finishing fourth to Fruity Fruity over the Valley 1,800m two runs back before failing at Sha Tin.
Size's Dr Well - a winner at the trip - has also been in form and is coming off a solid weekend effort in Class One at Sha Tin behind Fruity Fruity.
