After 52 runners, Tsui finally gets off the mark
If anyone thought trainer Me Tsui Yu-sak was feeling any pressure before China Hero's all-weather win, they were a week too late.
Tsui was the final trainer on the table to register a winner for the new season, but smiled that being the last cab off the rank was easier than being one of the last three.
'When John Size and Alex Wong Yu-on also didn't have winners, I felt the pressure then because nobody wants to be last,' he said. 'But when John and Alex had winners last week, that only left me. And once I knew I would be last and couldn't change it, there was no more pressure.'
And in a race where the fight for the lead looked more than competitive on paper, the pressure also disappeared as China Hero (Howard Cheng Yue-tin) bounced straight to the front and he never looked like losing.
'Actually, his first run for the season had been quite good at Happy Valley, so I was confident China Hero could run well when he got a good draw,' Tsui said.
'He was able to get the rail and the lead and those are his ideal conditions.'
The gelding landed his first win since April last year, but had been consistent in 17 runs since, returning minor prize money cheques on 10 occasions.
For Tsui, being the last to train a winner for the new term was an even greater surprise as he had saddled up 52 runners before yesterday - more than any other trainer.
