Dragon to breathe fire for Cruz camp
Tony Cruz's success as a trainer is no surprise to those who know him.
And to watch his patient handling of top-class sprinter Aggressive Dragon as he nurses him back to the track, it is easy to understand why he has reached the echelons of the top trainers in such a short time.
The five-year-old is yet to race this season after rising through the ranks last term to emerge as one of the region's best gallopers.
But a return to the racetrack looked imminent yesterday as the son of Famous Star dashed over 800 metres for Douglas Whyte in 50.4 seconds.
The big chestnut put the final quarter behind him in 22.6 seconds and he did it with style.
Aggressive Dragon hasn't been seen since finishing an unlucky fifth to Master Eagle in the Piaget Gold Cup at the end of last season.
And a series of niggling setbacks saw him sent to Beas River for a break mid-season. But those woes look well behind him now.
He may need a couple of runs to hit his top but if he remains sound he looks sure to figure in some of the end-of-season features, especially over his pet 1,400-metre trip.
Cruz's Perfect Star is also going along the right way after his recent success and he impressed running 1,200 metres in one minute and 18.3 seconds.
He has not had a lot of racing this year and is going to go into the closing part of the season a lot fresher than many of his opponents - stick with him as he looks capable of winning again before the handicapper gets him.
Eddie Lo may have had a slow start to the year but his team have been running into form in recent weeks. And Startrice's work indicated he is up to adding to that total in the near future.
The six-year-old was placed on eight occasions last term and developed into one of the more honest performers in Hong Kong.
His consistency has seen him rise in the ratings but the way he went with Cosmo One over 1,200 metres in 1:22.2 yesterday made a solid impression.
He is another who has not had a lot of racing this season and there have been signs of improvement in his recent gallops.
Cosmo One got into a lot of trouble at his last run and the effort should be forgiven - he still looks in fine fettle.
Meanwhile, two trials were held on the all-weather with the lightly raced Winning Years taking the first heat in good style for Brett Doyle.
Brave Star, a recent addition to the Francis Lui stable, trialled nicely to finish second in this heat and he looks a handy pick-up for the yard.
Lui has done well since taking over the stable from the suspended Tony Chan and his performance has more than justified a licence in his own right.
Doyle completed the double in the second batch when he piloted Red Zone to victory over Serve And Volley and Magic Fingers.
Red Zone has disappointed since scoring one of the more impressive debut wins of the year and it is hard to know what to make of him.
The son of Fairy King did it in style yesterday and may be worth another chance.
Others to work well were Super Goal Winner, Aly Baba, Kimber and Midas.
SHA TIN DIRT TRIALS First trial _ 1,150m: 1, WINNING YEARS (B. Doyle); 2, Brave Star (B. Marcus); 3, Splendid Timing (S. K. Sit). Others (in finishing order): Winwin Combination, Merry Maple, Mighty Prince, God Of Wealth. Time: 1:09.1 (24.6). Distances: 1 length, length. Winner trained by Andy Leung Ting-wah.
Second trial - 1,150m: 1, RED ZONE (B. Doyle); 2, Serve And Volley (E. Legrix); 3, Magic Fingers (D. Nikolic). Others: Star Fleet, Pakistan Hero, Healthy Star, Amza Glory. Time: 1:08.9 (25.0). Distances: 1.25 lengths, 2.5 lengths. Winner trained by Bruce Hutchison.
