Holi Ravioli enjoys new lease of life with Size

Championship leader John Size wrung another double out of Sha Tin yesterday and kept Holi Ravioli's unbeaten formline for the yard intact in the Lusitano Challenge Cup (1,000m).

A fairly recent acquisition, Holi Ravioli (Felix Coetzee) arrived at the Size stable as a horse with a problem past and without a win in just a handful of starts, but yesterday's third straight victory up the straight course was comprehensive enough to give the impression the four-year-old is not finished yet.

'He's really enjoying his racing and he's a very confident horse at present,' said Size, who is optimistic that Holi Ravioli is not merely a one-trick pony.

'I'm hoping he's not one dimensional because he doesn't feel like that when you ride him in the mornings. He gives you the impression that he will run further when he's a bit more seasoned later and that would give us more options.

'But at the moment he's winning races up the straight course so the simplest plan is to keep him doing what we know he is doing well,' he added.

Size and Coetzee also combined earlier to win with Deminer in the Class Four dirt sprint after the horse had disappointed recently, but the jockey was more confident this time even before he got to the start.

'Before he hasn't seemed that happy to be there but he was calmer today before the race, alert but not stirred up, and he hasn't been as good when I've ridden him before. He felt better going down to the start and behind the gates and I felt then that he would run well,' Coetzee said.

'He certainly appreciated the inside barrier too.

'He got a nice run without having to do too much in the early part of the race and that showed in what he gave me at the finish.'

Size said he believed the low draw and what looked an easier assignment paved the way to the win.

'He had trained well and done well in the stable and from the inside gate, that was probably his race today as I felt it was a bit less pressure than some of the races he's been in,' Size explained.

It was Deminer's third victory, all of them over 1,200m on the dirt, and all of them in Class Four and takes him back up in grade next time.

Meanwhile, the double took Size to 56 victories for the term as he seeks a fifth trainers' title, and stretched his lead back out to 10 over reigning champion Caspar Fownes, who went winless for the card.