A horror draw for Superior Warrior may have ruined the best laid plans of trainer Ricky Yiu Poon-fai at Happy Valley tonight, but there is little doubt the three-year-old is ready to peak after a dashing display of speed in a barrier trial at Sha Tin last Tuesday.
Superior Warrior was sent back to the trials by Yiu and ran good time out in front to win his 1,000m heat by a ?-length under apprentice Ben So Tik-hung.
Yiu has been racing his Fastnet Rock gelding predominantly at Happy Valley this term. The booking of Brett Prebble on the quick back-up indicated a strong showing but, from gate 12, the task looks more than ominous.
Don't be surprised if he still runs a bold race, but if he is beaten by the gate, keep him pencilled in for a Class Four victory in the near future.
Shanghai Pioneer set the Chinese whispers network into a frenzy after he was pulled out of his latest race by Jeff Lloyd after throwing in a dodgy stride near the 200m mark on January 16, and when the vet failed to find anything amiss with the horse after the race, the stewards ruled the four-year-old undergo a series of barrier trials.
Trainer Andy Leung Ting-wah has not messed about in proving the soundness of his horse and sent his charge out for two trials in a week, the first a head second to Praising - who was touched off a short head by Euro Power last Saturday - and the second a solid win over Lucky Bravo in his 1,050m all-weather heat last Tuesday.