Keen Wongchoy a force to be reckoned with
Andreas Schutz has exacted four wins in total from Ho Wongchoy and Jolly Wongchoy for owner Lester C H Kwok and can add to those totals after a smart display by Keen Wongchoy in the Class Three Daisy Handicap (1,400m) at Sha Tin on Saturday.
Keen Wongchoy had folded after a handy run for 12th - beaten four lengths by King Al Akbar - in his debut last month over the same trip for top rider Douglas Whyte and was unwanted in the betting at 56-1 odds for Maxim Guyon.
He showed some speed after jumping with the field from gate eight to settle between runners in fifth and about three lengths off the leader Super Plus, was strung up in traffic soon after straightening, burst through a gap when clear at the 200m and stayed on nicely for second behind Master Gunner.
The good-looking bay will likely come on further for this outing and will prove a force to be reckoned with when next stepping out.
Connections have had to be patient with the British import, who suffered from a left fore lateral suspensory branch injury in March.
He had shown ability when chalking up a maiden win at Windsor (1,200m) and Class Three Handicap at Newbury (1,207m) and two fourths from five starts as a juvenile.
Keen Wongchoy is a four-year-old by Le Vie De Colori, a top-flight Italian performer who won 14 races from 1,000m to 1,800m and has been represented locally by Easy Winner and City Power.
His dam is the Woodborough mare Stroke Of Six, a winner at 1,200m and 1,600m and half-sister to Revelation, who won the Group Two Prix Eugene Adam (2,000m) in France.
Sean Woods has had a golden touch with performed private imports, and the performance of Man Of The Match in the extended Class Four Jonquil Handicap will help to solidify that reputation in the future.
Man Of The Match arrived from Britain a winner over the 1,445m at Ayr and twice placed at Leicester and Haydock from three starts.
Man Of The Match was ridden with patience under Olivier Doleuze, was still last at the 300m and let down well down the centre of the track under a big weight for fourth behind back-to-back winner Lombardi over the 1,400m.
The three-year-old had kept on well off a moderate pace for a debut seventh behind Dr Win on January 16 over the same trip.
He's the first local performer of the Zafonic sire Iffraaj, a British winner of seven races at 1,200m and 1,400m, including the Park Stakes at Doncaster and Lennox Stakes at Goodwood; and is from the Marju mare Dance Clear, who was a six-time winner from 1,200m to 1,800m and multiple Group placed in Europe and the United States.
Giving his best
Andreas Schutz is having a good season and is 11th in the trainers' standings with this many winners: 15
On a roll
Sean Woods has been hitting form lately and has moved to 16th in the table with win number: 12
