The barrier draw has again been unkind to El Zonda in the EWO Challenge Trophy (1,000m) at Happy Valley tonight, but the Tony Cruz-trained sprinter has struck some good form over the course and might have the tempo to overcome that disadvantage.
Still only lightly raced, El Zonda (Matthew Chadwick) seems to be finding his niche over the Valley minimum trip.
He put up a terrific performance two runs back to lodge his first success over the same course, pulling out an enormous final sprint to beat Union's Star, Tai Sing Yeh and Towkay Flyer.
El Zonda was ridden quietly in the early stages from barrier eight, but a check in the early stages knocked him all the way back to last place - usually the end of the game for 1,000m sprinters.
But his rider, Jeff Lloyd, hugged the rails behind a solid speed, rode for luck and was able to find some, threading through the field to overhaul his rivals late in the game and break 21.6 for his last 400m sectional time.
That was under a light weight of 114 pounds but, with 14 pounds more last start, El Zonda again drew wide, went back early but found his race run differently behind Our Pegasus.
