Top English trainer Peter Chapple-Hyam belatedly opened his Hong Kong account when veteran handicapper Lyphard's Lad took the second event on last night's mixed Sha Tin card. Chapple-Hyam's dirt-loving seven-year-old fought hard under Eric Legrix to repel the improving Fortune Prizes with Furioso arguably inconvenienced by the runner-up a whisker back in third. A cursory look at the talented Chapple-Hyam's roll-call back in England, where he was leading owner Robert Sangster's main trainer at the sumptuous Manton establishment, makes it clear that it can only be a matter of time before he starts sending out a truck load of winners in his new base. His big winners in Europe include Dr Devious in the English Derby and Irish Champion Stakes, Rodrigo De Triano in both the English and Irish 2,000 Guineas, White Muzzle and Single Empire in the Italian Derby, Turtle Island in the Irish 2,000 Guineas and Spectrum in the Irish 2,000 Guineas and the English Champion Stakes. It makes for highly impressive reading but his career out here has taken time to gather momentum due to the circumstances in which he 'replaced' the suspended Patrick Biancone. Understandably, Chapple-Hyam was delighted to break his duck but wasn't getting overly excited, saying: 'It's great to get off the mark but let's not get too carried away - I'm still 700 odd behind Brian Kan!' Before hurrying off to attend to the luckless Bon Bon in the fourth, Chapple-Hyam was quick to praise Legrix. 'Eric did a brilliant job. He knows the horse back to front. I just left the riding up to him.' There looked to be strong grounds for a stewards inquiry into the second placing as Fortune Prizes appeared to shift out and hamper the fast-finishing Furioso, who was a very short head behind him on the line. But none was forthcoming nor did Felix Coetzee, Furioso's rider object. Chief stipe John Schreck said: 'A lot of people might think there was interference but we thought Furioso was more running away from Fortune Prizes as he shifted ground rather than him being inconvenienced by him. 'What really cost him the race was being crowded down the back and we left it to Felix Coetzee to protest.' With a clear run, Bon Bon might have doubled Chapple-Hyam's score but the David Hill-trained Projectvision, under the highly promising claimer C. T. Cheng, was gone beyond recall in the fourth. It was business as usual for the prolific Club jockeys Robbie Fradd and Douglas Whyte. Fradd notched a double courtesy of the heavily backed and back-to-form Rainbow Seeker, who relished the drop into Class Five in the opener for which he'd been working much better, and John Moore's Excel Kid, who was on his best behaviour in the sixth. The double took Fradd to 30 winners in what has been a quite remarkable start to the season. He's now eight clear of Whyte, who in turn is 11 clear of Coetzee or put another way, Fradd in first is an incredible 19 winners clear of the third placed jockey and we're only just over a quarter of the way through the season. Whyte had to dig deep for his victory, driving for all his worth and getting a response to match from Bruce Hutchison's Brilliant Leader in the Fakei Cup, in which Tony Cruz's Natural Winner showed he continues to improve with a fine second. Alex Wong Siu-tan, trainer of Rainbow Seeker, completed a double when Merry Star held on well from Botany Bay in the third in which Moore's Hidden Talent finally lived up to his trackwork by staying on well for third. Merry Star was patiently ridden throughout by Alan Munro and could improve further. Wong Siu-tan was so nearly in treble form as his Greenmore came through looking all over the winner. But that was reckoning without the in-form David Harrison, who overcame a slightly difficult run to power home Eddie Lo's progressive Scenic Star by a short head. Tony Millard's Lynx might well have run into the placings but was badly held up shortly after straightening.
