SKY Eagle is fancied to show improved form at decent odds in the fifth event on Happy Valley's grass meeting tonight. The Gary Ng Ting-keung-trained five-year-old just got away with a Class Six event earlier in the season but there was much to like about his last run and he appears to have progressed considerably since. He was noted staying on really well from the rear of his field to be fifth to stablemate and easy winner Best Of Luck last time out over a patently inadequate 1,400 metres on the dirt. The move to 1,800 metres is just what he requires and any more rain would help his cause, too. He finished all over the top of them on rain-softened ground when beating See The King over the Sha Tin mile, form which is working out pretty well. He then had a lay-off before his next outing, again over too short a trip, and then running that highly promising fifth to Best Of Luck. Trainer Gary Ng has his stable in fine form and he excels with these horses like Sky Eagle that have limited but definite ability. He works on their mental as much as their physical state and gets them to apply everything to racing. And it appears significant that jockey W. H. ''Rambo'' Tse is on board Sky Eagle rather than the Hongkong Football Club's Royal Blue who is also his regular ride these days. The danger could well be David Oughton's Shanghai Triumph who finished just behind Sky Eagle last time out. Just like the selection, he found everything happening too quickly for him over 1,400 metres on the dirt. Prior to that he has run a decent second to Able Ride, the pair well clear of their rivals, and a decent second to the rapidly improving Our Pal over tonight's course and distance. His stable is now firing on all cylinders and a repetition of either of those efforts would see him go very close. John Moore's Easy Beat was gambled on in some quarters last time out but, after travelling very smoothly, could not pick up from the top of the straight, finishing fifth to Talisburg. That was the best Easy Beat had run all season which is not surprising as it coincided with him taking on Class Five opposition for the first time. He looks to have trained on well since that effort and must also come in close quinella consideration. Royal Blue is another of Gary Ng's low-class inmates that has thrived since joining the young handler. He put up his best performance when a close third to Mount Sapphire and L'Enjoleur last time and cannot be ruled out, despite the drop back in distance. Oughton may have to settle for second place with Shanghai Triumph but he looks to have a winning opportunity in the opening event with his consistent Humdinger. The seven-year-old, a course and distance winner over the Valley 1,235 metres, should find the race run to suit. He habitually rattles home from the rear of his field. With Winning Vic likely to set the speed for the first half of the race, and with Turf Apex almost certain to push the pace from there on in, Humdinger should get every chance to run home strongly to the line. Turf Apex had the speed to lead Deerfield in a griffin contest last season and could still be a quinella chance in what appears not to be a particularly competitive event. The danger is that he may get tired over the closing stages, particularly as they travel strongly throughout these 1,235-metre sprints. Lawrie Fownes' Tung Feng probably needs farther to show his best but he is another who could be running home strongly over the trip. On that basis he is worth including in quinella and tierce wagers in the first. He was far from disgraced last time when a solid fourth to Best Runner and is fully recovered from the hoof problems which impaired his early-season form.
