Weight's not an issue for Ferraris' Amazing Venture
Amazing Venture looked a transformed horse when scoring an ultra-impressive win last start and, despite taking a rise in weight, he looks set to repeat the dose in the final leg of Sunday's Triple Trio at Sha Tin.
With the TT failing to go off last weekend, the main prize is expected to swell to HK$12 million and, with the advantage of an inside alley, Amazing Venture looks a standout banker.
The David Ferraris-trained gelding, a half brother to star sprinter Absolute Champion, showed glimpses of talent in his first six starts, but a habit of missing the jump continually proved costly.
He came up short two starts back when tried at 1,600 metres, but a return to 1,400m last time had the desired result. He landed on the back of the speed and travelled well for Darren Beadman, before coasting into a challenging position early in the home straight.
Once given his head by Beadman, the four-year-old quickly put his rivals to the sword, and he ended up winning by a widening margin over Beautiful Choice, despite appearing to have something in hand on the line.
Amazing Venture was handed a 10-point rating increase for the victory, which results in a nine-pound rise in weight for Sunday's contest, but given he is set to again get an easy run on the back of the speed, the prospect of back-to-back victories is highly likely.
His main danger, and an appealing double banker option, is promising Happy Ambassador, despite having to give weight away all round.
The Francis Lui Kin-wai-trained gelding opened his account three starts back, but has managed to find one better at his subsequent two appearances. Although comprehensively beaten by Bouncer last start, the winner does give the impression he will make into a nice horse, and Happy Ambassador will get every opportunity under Brett Prebble after coming up with gate two.
King Fay Fay made a good impression when making his debut four weeks ago and has to be respected, while others capable of getting into the action are Steel Nerves, Lucky Dragon and Sevens Heaven.
The opening leg appears wide open, but the best banker option is Kiwi Dash, now that he has one run under his belt after being sidelined with a suspensory ligament injury.
The seven-year-old has been a model of consistency since joining the Paul O'Sullivan stable, and his first-up performance in finishing third to Supreme Gold showed he had returned in good order. He should strip fitter for the outing and be right in the thick of things when it counts. His main opposition looks set to come from Terrific Brethren, Ever King, Lucky Tycoon, Juggernaut and Night Hunter III.
In the middle leg, Luckyme gets his chance to return to form with a drop in class and distance. The four-year-old ran with great merit in the Derby Trial behind Green Birdie, before struggling with a rise in distance in the Hong Kong Derby.
He should bounce on the lead for renowned front-running rider Felix Coetzee and be the one to topple, with his main dangers to come from Ever Bright, Lu Yue, Albertinelli, Go Johnny Go and South Breeze.
