Prebble and Whyte get the best out of Tsui's lesser lights

Me Tsui Yu-sak has been a great supporter of apprentices this season but even the allocation of topweight of 133 pounds was enough to persuade him against using senior jockeys on two horses yesterday.

Tsui won the Top Gain Handicap for Class Five animals with Sir Lago (Brett Prebble), and three races later completed a double when Horse Win Win (Douglas Whyte) landed the Housemaster Handicap (Class Four) over 1,400m. Both horses shouldered the full 133 pound burden to win.

'Sir Lago needs vigorous riding and, even though I have asked the local boys to be strong on him, none of them get the same result as Prebble,' Tsui said after Sir Lago ($44) powered away to win by a commanding 21/4 lengths over Brett Doyle's mount Cheerful Happiness.

'So I give full credit for this win to the jockey. He's only ridden him twice for me and he's won them both - and from 30 starts in Hong Kong, these are his only two wins.'

Prebble said he would love to paint a rosy picture for Tsui and owner Siu Pak-kwan after Sir Lago's apparent domination of the race, but suggested the winning margin was 'quite deceiving'.

'When I won on him at Happy Valley, he tried to give it away in the final stages and almost succeeded,' Prebble recalled.