The powerful new partnership of David Hayes and brilliant French rider Gerald Mosse exploded into the Hong Kong International picture yesterday, snatching up the Sha Tin riches including a Hong Kong Sprint Trial as All Thrills Too left no doubt he is coming back for revenge on December 15. 'Everything I have asked of All Thrills Too this season he has done and I am sure he is 10 pounds better now than last year, when he was good enough to run third in the Hong Kong Sprint and probably a bit unlucky,' said Hayes. 'The way he's been going, he is the one everyone must target as the one to beat.' The day's racing highlight had been expected to be a blistering warning to the world's milers from Electronic Unicorn, but that never eventuated and instead it was Hayes and Mosse who combined to win three races, with the Frenchman adding another for a four-timer. And in All Thrills Too, Hong Kong racing has another horse to tantalise it with the hopes of an International win. Narrowly beaten last year by Falvelon in the Sprint, he won with authority yesterday over Cape Of Good Hope and three-year-old Anabatik, like he could do it all day. 'Coming off a big first-up 1,200 metres win is not easy and having to come back to 1,000 didn't make it any easier,' Hayes said. 'But he travelled and was never going to be beaten, even though he won by a half length. It's hard to space them in a 1,000 metre race and I am very happy with how he did the job.' And just as enraptured with his decision to approach Mosse in early October to do more riding for him, after the pair had been a highly infrequent partnership in the past. 'Gerald is a world-class big-race jockey, and we are very comfortable working together,' said Hayes yesterday, six weeks after Strategic Select's Class Four win became their first small prize. The pair won with promising Planet Ruler early yesterday then followed with All Thrills Too in the Group Three Sprint Trial and Super Molly in the Group Three Chevalier Cup. Mosse added last year's expensive International Sales graduate, Floral Dynamite in the last race to make it four for the day. 'I have had four wins before in Hong Kong, but not including two Group races,' Mosse beamed. 'Some days, it all just works out.' Mosse bounced out quickly on All Thrills Too and kept the speedsters in his sights. 'Actually, All Thrills Too had no trouble dropping back to 1,000 metres,' Mosse said. 'He travelled even easier than last time, if anything. This is a pure sprinter. When you have a good horse like him, you keep him to his best distance and he will keep producing his best. When you mix their distances, you can mess them up.' Hayes admitted that when All Thrills Too had been beaten in sprints last season it had partly been to do with other agendas. 'Firebolt beat him fair and square one day, but that was after we had tried to make him get longer distances and maybe go to the Derby,' Hayes said. 'When he has been concentrated on short sprints, he's been hard to beat.' Hayes' decision to use Mosse came with the stable in the doldrums and the trainer feeling he wanted to try something new to change his luck. 'My season also started very slowly,' the French jockey said yesterday. 'I am grateful to the trainers who gave me good support early this season - Geoff Lane, Manfred Man and John Moore - but when David came to me and said he needed a jockey, I said, 'Okay, I'm your man'. And I have to say his support has been very generous. He has given me everything. Given me his best horses and when we have a day like this, it is just fantastic.' Runner-up Cape Of Good Hope must now be a case for inclusion in the race, regardless of the ratings - as was All Thrills Too last year - on the basis of his race form. 'It was a great effort making the step up from the handicaps to the top grade. No hard luck stories, he got a nice run,' said trainer David Oughton as the four-year-old met defeat down the straight course for the first time in four outings. 'He is in the International and I hope he makes the selections, but, if not, he'll run the same day in the 1,400-metre Class One.' Among the other beaten runners, Ivan Allan's Firebolt held the greatest disappointment in finishing out of the top five. 'I haven't squeezed him yet,' Allan said. 'He got within about two lengths of the leaders, then his condition gave out and he had a good blow. His target is the Hong Kong Sprint and I was happy enough with that - he'll improve three or four lengths.' Allan said last season's Hong Kong Derby winner, Olympic Express, was well short of fitness and found the 1,000 metres unsuitable.'He was much too pretty, much too fresh. He wanted to run too fast early,' he said. 'When he blew up, Eddie Lai showed good sense and didn't hurt him. He will improve immensely from that.'
