CHAMPION River Verdon underlined that he will be hard to beat on Sunday - no matter the distance - when dominating the fourth of eight trials at Sha Tin yesterday morning. The Invitation Cup winner was pushed out by Basil Marcus to hold useful work horse Key On by a comfortable two lengths in a useful 59.3 seconds for the straight 1,000-metre course. River Verdon's victory was made to look even better by his smart sectional time of 22.9 seconds for his last 400 metres.
He is set to reappear in Sunday's Centenary Cup over 1,200 metres which is woefully short of his ideal distance. But the way he is going he could well prevail - even with Quicken Away in opposition. River Verdon is so fresh and well that he should be able to sprint. He very nearly pulled off a similar lead-up event to last season's Gold Cup and certainly merits inclusion in all bets on yesterday's smooth trial win.
Last time he trialled, trainer David Hill instructed Marcus to hold up River Verdon and let him run home. Yesterday he jumped straight to the front from his customary inside trials berth and made virtually all the running. Quicken Away was actually in opposition in yesterday's heat.
He was kept under a tight hold by Brent Thomson as he strolled home in fourth. He will give River Verdon a stern test at the weekend in a race which is in grave danger of cutting up to an uncompetitive event from a betting point of view. Lawrie Fownes' headstrong colt Super Fit bolted home from Hill's classy Lionheart in the fifth. Fownes went on to take the sixth with his recent acquisition, the useful sprinter Nitrogen who held a revitalised Right Choice by a short head.
He was also on the mark when his Crown Counsel dominated a poor bunch in the seventh and his Speedster did likewise from a selection of griffins in the last. If only it could be so simple on racedays. The opening heat predictably went to Brian Kan Ping-chee's Prudent King from Blazing Blade who is another to have moved to Fownes.
David Oughton's Holy Terror continues to flatter to deceive in the mornings. Yesterday he took the second trial in the manner of a horse who should whizz home from his current rating in his races proper. Instead he habitually finds nothing under pressureand remains one to treat with caution. Kan's lightly-raced Magic Moment went very well on Holy Terror's outside.
