Latest Blitz shows he is a force to be reckoned with
Danny Lam Yin-lee has been to the top of the mountain in horse ownership, having landed the 2005 Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Sprint with Natural Blitz, and while his latest blitz has a fair way to go to match that, he at least kicked off positively in the first barrier trial at Sha Tin yesterday.
Dynamic Blitz bounced straight to the front for apprentice Derek Leung Ka-chun and made every post a winner, burning up all-weather track with a very fast split for his final 600m - 34.4 seconds. He showed no signs of slowing down in the home stretch and was still strong on the line, with a final 200m of 11.45 seconds.
While Natural Blitz was prepared by Derek Cruz, Dynamic Blitz is in the care of Ricky Yiu Poon-fie, and the royally-bred sprinter has made good progress since his first trial on November 4.
On that occasion, Dynamic Blitz went out hard in a straight 1,000m trial on turf and weakened in the concluding stages, to be run down and beaten a neck by Able Dragon. The overall time that day was 0.7 seconds faster than standard, after factoring out the track speed of the day, but the final 400m was 0.25 slower than standard.
Yesterday, switching to the all-weather track and ridden more conservatively early, Dynamic Blitz showed no signs of stopping in the concluding stages and held a comfortable two-length margin.
Heartline, a first-up winner this season for the Tony Cruz yard, ran honestly for second and was fully tested by Marco Chui Kwan-lai, while third placed Step To Win (Thomas Yeung Kai-tong) was a further eight lengths away.
Dynamic Blitz is yet to race in Hong Kong, having been acquired from the Lee Freedman yard when he proved a fast but relatively limited sprinter. The chestnut gelding won three of his eight starts in Victoria, from 1,000m to 1,200m, and was a last-start winner over 1,200m at Sandown Park on April 23. He arrived on a rating of 72.
Dynamic Blitz's sire Elusive Quality was a record-breaking sprinter-miler in the United States, with progeny including the dual classic winner Smarty Jones, while his dam was the high-class filly Assertive Lass, winner of Group Ones right through to the AJC Australian Oaks distance of 2,400m.
Warrior (Felix Coetzee) won the other all-weather trial without ever coming off the bridle and, although Coetzee eased him right down in the concluding stages, he always looked like finishing at the head of affairs.
Warrior is now a five-year-old but has only raced seven times for three wins - his first three starts. The O'Reilly gelding looked in magnificent order and it will be no surprise if Size tries to find an all-weather race for him, because he does seem to enjoy the softer surfaces.
The first turf trial over 800m was won by the Paul O'Sullivan-trained Go Dan Go, though the time of 48.8 seconds was slow - even for a track that was not riding fast.
Go Dan Go raced close to the lead throughout, always travelled strongly for Zac Purton, and never came off the bridle in beating Tuscan Spirit (already an impressive trial winner) by a neck.
Extractive ran a faster time in taking the second 800m heat under Purton. The Redoute's Choice gelding showed the improvement one might expect for a horse that has had the experience of a race and finished too powerfully for unraced three-year-old Fleeting Quality (Jacky Tong Chi-kit) to score by a neck.
