Champion has a mountain to climb in Japan
Hong Kong's champion jockey Douglas Whyte has his work cut out today after failing to land a serious blow in the Super Jockeys' Series in Hanshin, Japan, yesterday.
Whyte's mounts in the Golden Boots Trophy and Golden Whip Trophy could finish only eighth and 11th, leaving him with just six points and ranked 11th going to the third and fourth legs this afternoon.
Local rider Shuji Akaoka scored a win and a fourth to hold the frontrunning on 31 points, pursued jointly on 26 by Frenchman Stephane Pasquier and another Japanese rider Katsumi Ando.
It was hardly a scoop but Howard Cheng Yue-tin was confirmed as the final rider into the Cathay Pacific International Jockeys' Championship at Happy Valley on Wednesday after his victory on Grand Store.
The Me Tsui Yu-sak gelding got a perfect ride from Cheng to take race eight with authority but the rider's position as the leading local freelance jockey at the end of the day's racing - the qualifying condition to represent Hong Kong at the Valley - was already certain.
As for Grand Store, it was his fourth win over the dirt 1,200m and his fourth from seven starts on dirt, so trainer Tsui said he would be keen to keep him to the surface if possible.
'I tried him on the turf and he was not as good. The problem is that his rating now will be more than 80 and there are not so many races on the dirt once they get to Class Two,' he said. 'As long as there are opportunities on this surface, I will use them but the programming will decide.'
Kevin Shea was back in the winners' list when Tony Millard was able to conjure another victory from Taiji Spirit - courtesy of an outside gate.
The gelding had gone forward around the outside when he won in Class Four two runs back and Millard said the outside draw this time enabled the sprinter to go forward at his own leisure rather than having to be bustled to hold his position from a lower gate.
'We were going to give him a rest because he'd had a few hard runs but I freshened him up then my wife Beverley rode him one morning and said he felt so well that I had to run him somewhere,' Millard said.
They aren't everyone's cup of tea, the all-weather meetings, but trainer Paul O'Sullivan can't wait to get Treasurable to the next one.
The five-year-old by former good Hong Kong galloper Electronic Zone never looked any great shakes on the turf but has found his niche in racing on the all-weather surface after making it two from two with a hollow win under Jacky Tong Chi-kit.
'His sire was American-bred and Electronic Zone liked the surface so it looks like we've found his chance - thank God for the dirt,' said O'Sullivan.
Lagging behind
Douglas Whyte is ranked 11th after collecting just this many points: 6
