Super Team is slowly finding his rhythm

The Almond Lee-trained Super Team may have displayed nothing since arriving from New Zealand, but the five-year-old showed he is finding his feet with an encouraging performance in the Class Four Chevalier Property Management Handicap (1,400m) on Sunday at Sha Tin.

It was an improved performance on his previous three efforts. Lee cut short a two-run campaign in March with intermittent lameness after the horse never finished better than 10th in two 1,400m runs in January.

He returned on October 10 over 1,200m at Sha Tin for a flat 11th behind B Choice over 1,200m and 27 days later was a shade better eighth behind Shiny Day over this course and distance.

Super Team appeared to have strengthened up for his two earlier runs and was showing plenty in the mornings, but was still unwanted at 89-1 odds despite a 109-pound weight assignment.

The chestnut gelding broke midfield from gate 10, was still nearly eight lengths down at the rear of the field while straightening six wide and let down with purpose to go down by 21/4 lengths to Matsukaze in seventh.

He is a son of the Red Ransom stallion Handsome Ransom, who has won with his only other three starters in Hong Kong - Handsome Zulu (two wins at 1,650m and 1,800m at Happy Valley), Finezza (two wins at 1,400m and 1,600m at Sha Tin) and High-Loft (1,000m at Sha Tin); mated to the unraced Marscay mare L'Affair, the dam of two other raced foals, including the Singaporean winner Silver Element (by Pentire), a four-time winner from 1,400m to 2,400m.