Gibson's triallist a thing of Beauty
Richard Gibson's Beauty King is knocking on the door of his first win, and the talented three-year-old showed enough in a Sha Tin trial yesterday that it won't be far away.
Gibson is having a stellar first season, and while he has become known for his rehabilitation projects from rival yards, Private Purchase Griffin Beauty King is one he has had from his first local start.
The chestnut has been sent out single figures at each of his four starts, the first two of them thirds behind smart opposition up the straight. He was then upset by Simple over 1,200m and was a flat fifth with side winkers on last start over the same trip when he sat up on the speed.
He showed yesterday that a dirt track win wouldn't be beyond him, but longer trips might be the key with the gelding, too. His New Zealand dam, Dear Deputy, was a four-time winner over 2,100m or further, and an older half-brother was successful over a mile.
Gerald Mosse had ridden Beauty King in each of his starts, but Olivier Doleuze took over for yesterday's 1,050m all-weather track trial, with side winkers off and shadow roll on, and the Frenchman was quick to restrain his mount after he jumped on terms.
He sat behind pacesetter Nice Folks, travelling comfortably until the straight, where Doleuze asked for an effort and he let down with a nice sprint to the line, the last 400m in 22.3 and his overall time of 1.02.92 the faster of the two heats of the morning.
Finishing 73/4 lengths back was Michael Chang Chun-wai's promising Giggles Forever, who was an impressive winner at his second start in late January.
After that win, jockey Brett Prebble expressed some reservations about the four-year-old's mental make-up, saying the gelding needed 'to take a chill pill', and his nervous tendencies were on display before the trial.
Chang takes his time with horse's when possible, he hadn't trialled again until yesterday, and the highly-anxious horse was escorted by the lead pony from the saddling enclosure to the gates. Once up and running, he relaxed inside of horses and wasn't asked to extend.
