Horse of the Year Mr Vitality oozed quality at yesterday's Sha Tin trackwork session. The son of Snippets only met defeat in the territory when pushed up to 1,800 metres for the Group Two International Cup and the Hong Kong Derby. This season he will almost certainly be aimed at the 1,400-metre Group Two International Bowl and kept to set-weight sprint or mile events. If this is the case it is quite possible that he will retain his Horse of the Year mantle.
Trainer Ivan Allan is only just starting to bring Mr Vitality back into work but the outstanding quality of this gelding is already apparent. Yesterday Mr Vitality worked on the sandmesh in company with Applause. They weren't asked for anything too serious, jogging their way round until entering the straight at which point they picked up for a pipe-opening final 400 metres in 22.4 seconds. Champion jockey Basil Marcus did not have to move a muscle on Mr Vitality, dispelling any fears that his mount may not be able to scale the same peaks as last season.
Allan's Speedstar had earlier caught the eye on the main work track when moving sweetly on the inside of Sumotori. A former Allan inmate Pinch The Devil was another to please. The typically tall and lean son of Salt Dome is now with Tony Cruz and looking a million dollars. Cruz is just starting to ask some of his for a bit more of an effort in the mornings, having been patiently building them up with a series of long, slow canters. Pinch The Devil only clocked 54.2 seconds yesterday for his final 800-metre section but his coat gleamed and he appeared on excellent terms with himself. There were also two all-weather trials. Stephen Leung's Seven Glory went to the line under a double handful in the opening heat and should give a good account of himself when sent to the sports. Moore's Moon Dancer came home similarly in the second trial in which Ricky Yiu's unraced griffin, Multi-Star, showed natural speed.