Melbourne Cup winning horseman David Hall should secure the most important win of his fledgling Hong Kong career when comeback galloper Beethoven rolls over from last week's good performance into today's $2 million HSBC Premier Plate (1,800m).
Hall has made a great fist of the latest chapter of his life with horses, an opportunity gained through his winning the 2003 Melbourne Cup with the great mare Makybe Diva.
However, there were no Makybe Diva equivalents awaiting him on his arrival at Sha Tin. Hall got the call-up as a replacement for retired three-time champion Ivan Allan but got little of the benefit because Allan anointed Danny Shum Chap-shing as his successor and most of his stable, including future Group One star Scintillation, went that way.
Consequently, Hall had to graft his way through his first term with a lot of older, unsound horses. But today's Premier-class race, with Beethoven, should be a worthy reward for those initial struggles.
Beethoven was originally trained by David Hayes and was, at one time, one of the most exciting horses in training. The handsome black son of champion sire Zabeel was considered a future star and at the peak of his powers ran a close fifth (three lengths) behind Lucky Owners in the 2004 Hong Kong Derby.
Now a six-year-old, Beethoven has been worked back to peak fitness by Hall and his two runs from a spell have been excellent performances at the top of Class Two.
On March 4, when having his first run since December 11, he ran with distinction for second to all-weather track star Stable Mail in a high-rating race, shouldering topweight of 133 pounds.