Take a promising Danehill three-year-old, give him to high-profile sophomore trainer Caspar Fownes, tune him up for a 1,400 metres Class Four race, then engage Douglas Whyte and what do you have? Answer: a dominant $24 favourite!
That's the cramped price at which Australian-bred Pionero headed the markets last night for the seventh event at Sha Tin this afternoon.
Pionero, an international sale graduate, is an athletic son of the former stakes class filly Techniques (by Palace Music). He has finished second at each of his two starts to date and seems well placed to open his winning account.
If there's a negative to what otherwise seems a sure-fire winning recipe, it could be the maturity factor. Pionero is not as robust as many members of the Danehill breed and has therefore taken time to come to hand. He still looked a bit strange to it all in his final gallop and his sheer inexperience is all that stands between him and his maiden victory.
As usual, Whyte's mounts are in prime demand throughout the afternoon. His presence in the saddle has been enough to make Modern Prospect favourite for the fifth event on the all-weather track, even though this gelding has finished 10th or worse at seven of his last nine outings.
But the secret to Modern Prospect's status as $51 favourite lies in his return to the artificial surface. He has won two races and run two other second placings over the all-weather 1,650 metres circuit, including one victory in Class Three. He returns to Class Four and looks very well suited, so Whyte's appearance in the pigskin is timely indeed.
