Willing Storm can prove spoiler in the Million race
The John Moore-trained Willing Storm can't win the CSL Million Challenge, but the four-year-old sprinter may still be an important player as the Happy Valley series winds up to a thrilling finish in the Briar Handicap (1,200m) tonight.
The million-dollar series to honour the highest achiever at Happy Valley from September to February will conclude with 10 of the top 15 points scorers engaged and still capable of a last-ditch effort to snatch the Challenge and the HK$650,000 first prize.
The Andreas Schutz-trained Kenobe is the series' leader with 40 points from two wins and two placings and he will be the victor if he wins the seventh race.
But a wide draw and a disappointing eighth when most recently produced have given encouragement to all his rivals.
Caspar Fownes, the acknowledged King of the Valley circuit, can put the pressure on Kenobe if his sprinter, Ocean Wide, takes out the fifth race and goes to 49 points, as they will become the only two possible contenders.
But, if neither Kenobe nor Ocean Wide can put the contest to sleep, it can all come down to what happens in the last race and Willing Storm is waiting to play the spoiler in the final act.
A win at the Valley 1,200m three runs back earned him 15 points in the series but, while that leaves him well out of contention, he can still wreck the hopes of the Sean Woods-trained Plan B (Howard Cheng Yue-tin) and stablemate Victory Conqueror (Marco Chui Kwan-lai), who still have prospects.
Willing Storm was ridden quietly by Beadman the night he flashed up to win over this course, and that looks the likely recipe again.
With some reasonable speed in the race in Cannonise, Mi Reilly and Friendly Gains, the four-year-old has only a relatively light handicap and a dashing turn of foot at the finish when saved up.
He was close up last time behind Dream Team over 1,400m at Sha Tin, running on well from the rear, and would have gone close to winning instead of being beaten a length had he not been held up in the run home.
Plan B backs up from his second straight 1,000m win at the Valley last week, but is already a 1,400m winner so the extra 200m will not be an issue, provided he gets the right trip behind the lead.
The Woods team has been in superb form and Plan B drops in the handicaps from 133 pounds to 114 with the rise in class.
And Victory Conqueror is not without his 'dark horse' claim to the Million Challenge prize. Though he has won only once, he has been consistent all season and will find life much easier under his light weight after carrying 133 pounds and 129 pounds respectively in his last two starts over the course.
