Wah May Star ready for big season
Flashy grey gelding Wah May Star has made significant off-season improvement, judging by an effortless barrier trial win at Sha Tin yesterday.
The Me Tsui Yu-sak-trained three-year-old was one of last season's most impressive griffin winners, strolling away with a 1,200m restricted race at Sha Tin by 3 3/4 lengths. That came after he had run Croesus to a half-head in swift time up the Sha Tin straight on debut.
The most startling aspect of his griffin win as $1.40 favourite was its apparent ease and the lack of vigor required by Zac Purton to get the speedster to accelerate.
The same turn of foot was evidenced again yesterday as the four-year-old responded to a slight squeeze from Purton to finish first in a 1,200m all-weather track trial.
The hard-going Po Ching King led up and Purton slid in behind. When the Caspar Fowens-trained Mark Up loomed on his outside, Purton asked for effort and easily moved to the front and maintained a neck margin on the line.
Taking a line through the runner-up's 92 rating, the bottom of Class Three with 63 should be a good starting point for the sprinter.
Another plus for Wah May Star, who had already trialled once this preparation, was his growing ability to relax and take a sit.
The A$115,000 (HK$921,453) Easter Yearling Sales purchase has quality bloodlines with two half-siblings having won stakes races.
Another runner with a nice sales page was Capital Champion. The four-year-old griffin is yet to race but his breeding is well above average. Capital Champion is out of brilliant filly Innovation Girl and by Encosta de Lago.
Innovation Girl raced for just 10 starts, all at stakes level. She won her first three starts, culminating with a memorable victory in the Group Two Ascot Vale Stakes. She finished out of a place just once in her career and won six times.
Capital Champion is her fourth foal and set owners back A$180,000 as a yearling. His fifth placing in a 1,200m dirt hit-out didn't tell the full story. After Brett Prebble positioned the gelding three back the fence, Capital Champion stumbled in the middle stages and nearly dislodged the rider.
After regathering himself, he showed good composure to work to the line under a strong hold, 2 1/2 lengths behind Lucky Follow Me.
The trial was Capital Champion's fourth and followed an eye-catching turf effort last month.
In the first heat, Dynamic Blitz made light work of relatively moderate rivals in one of his final serious workouts before heading to Macau for an invitation race on November 18.
The dirt specialist, with a rating of 118, heads to the Macau Sands Premier Cup (1,300m) looking in fine order.
