Tiger, Tiger, burning bright, at Sha Tin today, he'll get things right!
A little rhyme won't do any harm for the cause of Irish-bred three-year-old Tiger Ridge, who was just nosed out last week at Happy Valley but will make complete amends at Sha Tin this afternoon.
Tiger Ridge has now had two runs for the Ready To Win stable and is primed to win. In nine out of 10 occasions, the youngster would have been in the winner's circle last week but a freakish ride from Douglas Whyte perfectly complemented the training of John Size to turn Tiger Ridge's victory into defeat.
Interestingly, Tiger Ridge did not rate to his best last week, meaning there is a bit more gas in the tank. And the fitness benefit he will have derived from last week's race should be exactly what's required to make sure he breaks through today.
Unfortunately, last week was one of our less memorable days at the races. Three of our horses - Golden Mile, Great Win and In The Bank - performed dismally, finishing at the polar opposite end of the field to what we believed possible when we admitted them to the stable.
There will be no prolonged post mortems here. These horses either perform up to expectations or they are culled. We don't like excuses and those who keep making them for horses end up with holes in their pockets.