An improved trial outing from Gold-Fun at Sha Tin yesterday raised hopes that Richard Gibson's star will be there when the big guns roll out two weeks from now in the Group Two Premier Bowl.
Gold-Fun's first trial after off-season surgery on a damaged left front fetlock had raised a few eyebrows as the multiple Group One winner put in an unconvincing effort on the dirt in late September.
Yesterday, the first sign that Gold-Fun was closer to full fitness was that Douglas Whyte was back in the saddle, bumping Richard Fourie, and the second was the performance in the 1,000m trial itself, as the chestnut got through his work without any hassles.
Gold-Fun went to the line under a hold in fourth - after sitting in behind the speed Whyte went to look for daylight only to find rival Zac Purton closing the gap aboard 85-rated Harrier Jet. Still, there was no harm for Gold-Fun to be finding the line with plenty in the tank, as much as Whyte might have wanted to blow the cobwebs out over the final stages.
Gibson pulled off one of the training efforts of the 2014-15 season when he reinvented Gold-Fun as a sprinter, even if the move was prompted by his horse seeing the considerable hindquarters of Able Friend over four straight starts at a mile. Interestingly, Gold-Fun is likely to clash with his nemesis if he lines up in the Premier Bowl, with John Moore suggesting he will start Able Friend's campaign over 1,200m in the same race as he did last season.
Whether it be the Premier Bowl or a month later in the Jockey Club Sprint, the emphasis is likely to be on Gibson's six-year-old being fresh rather than looking for peak fitness right away as he looks towards December's Hong Kong Sprint.
Paul O'Sullivan's Harrier Jet will have to be at his best to compete off his mark of 85 first-up, but the former Chris Waller-trained four-year-old at least has a rating that should assure him of a start in the Classic Mile if connections want to head that way.
Harrier Jet's trial was his third for O'Sullivan and his best so far. It was also notably his first wearing blinkers, which he wore at his final two starts in Australia. Harrier Jet was second in the trial to Smart Volatility (Howard Cheng Yue-tin), who has been injury-free the last few months and is another heading towards what promises to be a cracking contest in the Premier Bowl.
Third in the trial was Derek Cruz-trained import Globe Trotter (Joao Moreira), who followed up his tidy first trial with another sound effort and looks ready to go to the races.
Moreira was also aboard David Hall's last-start winner Penang Hall, who had a good blow after being given a push to win his trial, his second ahead of his seasonal return.
Looking comfortable in second at just his first local trial was Benno Yung Tin-pang's acquisition Mythical Emperor (Purton) - he notched an impressive win up the Flemington straight in April, coming from last at the 300m to easily round up a field that included some stakes performers.
John Moore's Chevalier Star (Whyte) starts the season in Class Three after back-to-back wins to end last season and he looked in good order winning his heat from a horse in a similar situation, Solar Hei Hei (Brett Prebble).
Behind them was Right Call (Moreira), who continued his steady progression, and Kingsfield (Fourie), who will be given priority when Gibson enters the former Australian-trained stakeswinner for his local debut.
Danny Shum Chap-shing's Dancing Flames (Chad Schofield) has turned heads at trackwork and was again impressive as he was ridden along to win his heat.
In the following trial, a couple of horses that will debut in Class Five ensured they will have support next time: Masquerader (Purton) and Our Honour (Vincent Ho Chak-yiu).
The Kwok family also look like they have found another talented type with Beauty Love (Neil Callan). He was one to catch the eye, along with a number of other newcomers at the 13-trial session, including Harbour Nova (Moreira), Diamond Dragon (Fourie) and Flying Force (Purton).
