The New Year kicked off with a couple of smart meetings and several tasty performances to take note of. Nobody has greater cause to celebrate or look forward to 1998 than Andy T.W. Leung, who saddled his first treble at last Sunday's nine-race card at Sha Tin, and make no mistake, followers of the yard are in for a profitable time over the coming weeks. Colourful Era in the second event of the afternoon, the 1,200-metre Eastern Hospital Handicap, was the strongest of Leung's winners. The 7-1 shot ridden by Brett Doyle ran home an easy 2.25 length winner of the Class Four contest, but his winning time still shaved 0.3 seconds off the 1200-metre Class record and actually dipped below the Class Three best. Sure the Sha Tin turf was riding very fast and times throughout the afternoon suggested firm ground rather than the official good to firm. But even so, a finishing time of one minute and 9.9 seconds still equates to a Topspeed rating of 59. That level of rating is useful on its own, but combine the manner of victory with the knowledge that this was the first outing for Leung's sprint-bred International Sales purchase and the win takes on an even better look. Latching on to a promising youngster as he progresses through the ranks can be one of the most profitable of betting strategies and Colourful Era fits the bill perfectly. However, he is not the only one to keep safe from what should prove a very profitable race. Eastern Magnate (49), Rare (42) and Expertise (40) are all newcomers that shouldn't waste any time getting into the winner's enclosure. Another of Leung's International Sales purchases filled the second leg of his treble, with Hara Hara brought with a strong run under local rider Victor C.F. Chan to beat Lake Titicaca in the Class Five 1,600-metre Waterloo Handicap. Taking a voluntary drop in grade, there were no Class records here, but that shouldn't detract from the performance. His winning time of one minute and 36.6 seconds equates to a relatively smart speed figure of 53, and, although he doesn't possess quite the potential of his stable companion Colourful Era, he may prove equally as profitable from a punting perspective. With five runs under his belt before the weekend, Hara Hara has taken time to find his feet but has always possessed plenty of scope and has started winning ways on a very lenient handicap mark. Throw in the fact he is almost certainly going to prove better when stepped up in trip, and a little winning sequence looks firmly on the cards. Diablo (40) ran only a couple of pounds off his best to land the Tung Wah Directors Handicap and complete the Leung treble and Doyle double. There is no doubt this was a good solid effort in a decent time for the grade, but he will be handicapped to his ability after this and is one inmate of the Leung stable that may have done his winning for the season. Probably one for Quinella's and Tierces only from now on. The New Year's Day meeting at Sha Tin also threw up another Andy Leung charge to follow in Toy Baron. Having clocked a career-high rating of 31 on his previous start, he won the Class Six 1,400-metre Xinjiang Handicap with another improved effort equating to a Topspeed of 41 and is a progressive animal that should continue to pay his way.
