Sha Tin yesterday afternoon may not have wound up looking exactly like the script Darren Beadman and John Moore started with Sunday morning, but they walked away with a double from two horses who have taken everyone a little by surprise and the will to fight another day with the rest.
'It was a really good day, but it could have been a really great day,' grimaced Beadman after Captain Sweet and Jacobee provided the winners and the leading yard had to make do with seconds for Smart Giant, Admiration and Soaring Dragon.
'The wide draws really didn't help with horses like Admiration and Packing Ok, and Surrounded wasn't helped when he had to side step the horse that broke down in front of him.'
Captain Sweet has emerged as the champion of the Jockey Club's Subscription Griffin ranks, landing his fourth straight win after an engaging duel between top jockeys Beadman and Douglas Whyte (Flying Blue) in the early stages of what appeared to be a two-horse race.
Beadman and Whyte bounced out of the gates aggressively, looking to catch the other off guard, but each was equal to the moment with Beadman eventually taking the decision to let Flying Blue cross him to lead and then he brought Captain Sweet to the leader's outside.
'I think Captain Sweet had more race sense than the second horse at this stage,' Beadman said. 'The other one got a bit fired up and running, but my horse was more savvy and just got on with the job. He got to Flying Blue pretty quickly when I went for him, but then really dug in when it got tough.
'He's a really unassuming type of horse but four straight is hard to do. The major factor with him is how he just conserves his energy - before the race, during the race, he doesn't spend energy unnecessarily.'
