'He saves everything for his races - just the type of horse you want to be on. I like him'

Electronic Unicorn yesterday underlined that he was no forlorn hope in next month's showpiece Hong Kong Mile when a blistering turn of foot left a high-class Chevalier Cup field toiling in his wake at Sha Tin.

The Ricky Yiu Poon-fie-trained four-year-old, ridden by Steven King, dashed from mid-division in the home straight to quicken an emphatic 3.25 lengths clear of such top-notch performers as Charming Ciy and Trillion Win, with the old warhorse Oriental Express running another gallant race in fourth.

Yesterday's effort follows his close fourth to Helene Vitality in last weekend's feature Pok Oi Cup where the 2,000-metre trip may have come a shade too early in his preparation. The pace on over a mile is probably his ideal distance and he looks set to get that in the Hong Kong Mile when he's going to clash with local leviathan Fairy King Prawn and New Zealand's iron maiden Sunline.

'He gave me a tremendous burst of speed today,' said King. 'I knew they had gone hard and felt I had plenty of horse underneath me, but all the same it is hard not to be impressed with the way he did things.

'He's developed so well for Ricky [Yiu] over the last 12 months and is beginning to shape up into the finished article. I wouldn't be underestimating this fellow. He's very laid back and relaxed in the mornings. He saves everything for his races - just the type of horse you want to be on. I like him.'

Danzighill appeared to set a strong pace followed by Charming City, Floral Joy and Idol, who had a very tough trip out wide before weakening in the last 300 metres. In the circumstances, the Basil Marcus-ridden Charming City did well to hold on for second with Trillion Win getting a nice run round behind the speed and on the fence.

Marcus said: 'Charming City has got to the top pretty quickly yet he's still young, he's still a young horse mentally. I think there's more to come from him as he gets accustomed to running from his high rating position against the best. He's a sprinter-miler, that's for sure. He saw the trip out well today but as he matures I can see him improving and handling these mile trips even better.'

Robbie Fradd said of Trillion Win: 'He's much better carrying a low weight in a high grade as he did today.'

Yiu went on to complete a quality double when his youngster Jeune King Prawn made it three from three in the day's final event under Weichong Marwing. He only had a neck to spare over Asia Rising on the line and while Asia Rising had to be switched for a run, jockey Douglas Whyte, himself in double form earlier in the day, did not feel hard done by.

'If my horse had pinged when I wanted him to, he would have been able to take the gap. But he took a long time to wind up and was also a shade unbalanced which is why I had to delay going for the stick.'

Whyte added: 'He would have learned a lot from today as I was able to get him back and switched off. In time he should be able to stay a mile, providing we can continue to teach him to settle.'

Whyte had earlier been on the mark with Universal Charger in the second for Asia Rising's trainer Alex Wong Yu-on and on Enormous Way for Alex Wong Siu-tan in the fifth.

He said: 'Universal Charger had to do it the hard way today as we were back and wide and had plenty of ground to make up. He's a nice young horse.

'Enormous Way is starting to get his act together and may win again. He hardly hung at all and should get farther than the 1,800-metres, in fact he'll probably enjoy a bit farther and be better for it.'

Enormous Way had a tendency to hang earlier on in his career but Whyte added that he was a much more straightforward ride yesterday.

King was also in double form as he'd opened the meeting with a heady win on Francis Lui's improving low-grade stayer, Jumbo Luck.

Club jockey Dane O'Neill was yesterday suspended for four meetings for careless riding on Cosmo One in the ninth event.

O'Neill was found to have interfered with Danzigreen at the 800-metre mark of the Class Four, 1200m contest.