Promising Hello Pretty may have only scrambled in by a narrow margin first-up but the run has improved him, judging by his impressive win in the first of two barrier trials on the all-weather track at Sha Tin yesterday.
Hello Pretty, with race rider Glyn Schofield on board, sauntered to a comfortable win over quality sprinter Jolly Gains and went to the line with his ears pricked at the end of the 1,050 metres trial.
Jolly Gains, a Class Two galloper with a 94 rating, is a good benchmark as he invariably works well on the all-weather track and is an extremely honest and consistent.
Schofield settled Hello Pretty in fourth position in a field of nine and had the Australian-bred chestnut poised to pounce on the home turn. In the straight, Hello Pretty lengthened out nicely under minimal encouragement from Schofield and scored impressively.
Hello Pretty only raced three times in Australia, from the Flemington stables of Mathew Ellerton. He ran second on debut in a maiden at Seymour (1,200m) but then scored at his second start over 1,514m at Moonee Valley - the win that qualified him for Hong Kong.
At his only other start 'Down Under', Hello Pretty finished fifth of nine runners behind Mr Martini in the Group Two Bill Stutt Stakes over 1,600m at Moonee Valley. However, he was beaten only 21/2 lengths and the performance was full of merit for such an inexperienced young horse.
Since joining the stables of Francis Lui Kin-wai, Hello Pretty has been given plenty of time and has clearly appreciated the patient handling. He made his local debut in April and finished third to Handbag Premier over 1,400m, missing the start by a length and ultimately going down by a mere half length, and only a nose behind runner-up Mr Cool.