Wong sets staying poser
Local trainer Alex Wong Siu-tan has a couple of interesting staying types lurking in the wings in Enormous Way and Welldone Kid.
Wong potentially sets punters a poser next Wednesday night as he has the pair of them engaged in the same Class Four 1,800-metre event at Happy Valley.
Yesterday they came through their 1,200-metre preparatory gallop in an encouraging 1:24.4, with the hard-working Irishman Jimmy Quinn on Enormous Way and stable apprentice Eric K. W. Lee on Welldone Kid.
It's not easy to split the pair.
Enormous Way went into the notebook last time - enormously so - with a much-improved run when pushed up to a mile at the Valley.
He was noted closing strongly and appears to have improved at the track since.
This son of Kaapstad should also appreciate Wednesday night's move up to 1,800 metres.
Welldone Kid is another looking for ground.
He's been off the track proper for sometime but has been doing a stack of work, a lot of it with his improving staying stablemate Sillerent, and matching him stride for stride.
It will be interesting to see how Wong plays it on Wednesday night, whether he runs one or both.
Whatever he does, there seems to be money to be made from these two young staying sorts - just the type with whom Wong excels. Give him a stayer and he'll get the best out of him.
Generally it was a very quiet morning at the track yesterday with respect to runners at the next couple of meetings.
David Oughton did put Grenadier through 1,200 metres in 1:24.3 and, significantly, he was ridden by jockey of the moment Douglas Whyte. Grenadier, always a useful worker, has now put two solid runs together and has clearly come to himself.
He's in over a mile in Class Four next Wednesday and would be one of the main tierce chances in a competitive event which also features Brian Kan Ping-chee's Diamond And Gold dropping into Class Four and the Tony Millard-trained track star Fortune Tycoon.
Geoff Lane's Class Six performer Fame And Fortune ran out a half-length winner of the only barrier trial yesterday morning.
Fame And Fortune failed at Happy Valley last time but looks in good heart and should go much better back at Sha Tin.
He beat Easy Take, who can work well but lacks the strength to perform under full racing pressure.
Tony Millard's Go Denim ran third and he's probably the one to follow out of this trial.
Go Denim has good natural speed, sat second for much of the way under Basil Marcus and was beaten less than a length on the line.
YESTERDAY'S SHA TIN TRIAL 1,150m: 1, FAME AND FORTUNE (C. Brown); 2, Easy Take (W. C. Mawing); 3, Go Denim (B. Marcus). Others (in finishing order): Lucky Goal, Rare, Billion Delight, Merry Merry, Sundance Flyer, Always On, Fortune Prizes, Winning Boy, Hurray, Buster. Time: 1:10.5 (25.5). Distances: .5 length, head. Winner trained by Geoff Lane.