Lucky Photo Frame has rounded into a purple patch of form over this course and distance and will be hard to run down in the middle leg of a difficult Triple Trio at Sha Tin on Sunday, with an estimated prize of HK$20 million.
Lucky Photo Frame was lame following an ineffective opening run over the 1,400m in December, and then showed pace with first-time blinkers before fading over the Sha Tin mile next time out.
He was dropped back to the 1,400m on March 28 but, after taking a full furlong to gain a clear advantage on the lead, was nailed by New Leader. The three-year-old was promoted from the reserve list for another 1,400m outing on April 10 on good-to-yielding ground and never looked back after a superior start from gate 10 under regular rider Howard Cheng Yue-tin - coasting home by a cosy 11/2 lengths over Elite Fortune, with rival Travel King a distant fifth.
He was back in action last Sunday over this same trip but burned too much petrol from gate 12 and weakened to miss the placings. Apprentice Derek Leung Ka-chun is an ideal replacement for Cheng and, with a five-point claim, they will be hard to run down.
Travel King finished off strongly for a win in March and is a logical dual banker, while Cheeky Lad, Istide, Fascinating Smile, My Way and The Kid can fight it out for the final spot.
New Idea produced a career-best performance to destroy a Class Four field over this course and distance earlier this month and looks a logical banker in the final leg, despite copping a nine-point penalty.
