Trainer Almond Lee Yee-tat entered four horses for the HK$3 million Mercedes-Benz Hong Kong Derby Trial on February 20 and was shocked yesterday to find out three are likely to miss a start.
Flying Tamari and Infinite Delight, who fought out a thrilling finish at Sha Tin nine days ago, are both borderline cases to make the final field of 14. The high-quality race has so much depth the cut-off point will be a rating of 92, and even then there are horses on that rung that could potentially miss out.
'It's unbelievable,' Lee said last night. 'Here I am, so lucky to have these nice, potential Derby horses, and all bar Growl may miss out on the Derby Trial. You would not believe that.
'But what can I do? The highest-rated horses will take the 14 places in the Derby Trial field and I will just have to work my way around it.'
Lee also has a third Derby Trial entrant, the in-form Skyview Bar, but Lee's experience is telling him the athletic gelding won't be ready.
'I explained to the owner, when he was a three-year-old, he looked like a two year-old,' the trainer said. 'Now he is four-year-old, he's starting to look like a nice three-year-old. He has a lot of ability, but physically he has always been a bit behind for his age group.
