Leading Derby contender Tres Vite is in danger of missing the focal point of the local racing calendar after bypassing an intended lead-up event at Sha Tin yesterday. The Patrick Biancone-trained gelding has won each of his three starts but showed mucus when scoped midway through last week and the master French mentor was not prepared to risk him. 'What can you do?' Biancone asked rhetorically after racing yesterday. 'If he wasn't such a good prospect the temptation would have been to let him take his chance today.
'Now we feel he has to get a run in the Classic Trial if he is to make it into the Derby field.' And that is the problem.
The Classic Trial is where every trainer seems to want to run their Derby hopes and Tres Vite may not be high enough in the ratings to guarantee his place in the Trial and thus the Blue Riband event on February 23. 'If we miss the Derby, we miss the Derby,' added Biancone. 'We will just have to accept it as one of those things that happens in racing.' The Derby is shaping up into one of the best contests for many a season. The Ivan Allan-trained Citiluck is the form horse for the race having run on strongly and defied a tough run out wide when a close fifth to the Group One winner First Island in last month's International Cup. And yesterday the David Oughton-trained Victory Star came from way back and around his field under apprentice Win Chung to defeat some of the best milers in the territory to take the San Miguel Silver Tankard and underline his Derby credentials. Oughton and stable jockey Mick Kinane, who will be on board Victory Star in the Classic Trial, know what it takes to win the Derby having prevailed last season with Che Sara Sara. Meanwhile, yesterday's attendance for a quality San Miguel programme again failed to break through the 40,000 barrier at Sha Tin.
Some 39,286 made it to the New Territories venue with a further 9,869 making use of the cross-betting facilities at Happy Valley. Last season 43,898 attended the meeting at Sha Tin with 11,074 at the Valley.
