Wong's youngsters show up at trials

LOCAL handler Wong Tang-ping has a stable crammed with well classified young horses, and it showed again at yesterday's Sha Tin barrier trial session. Season after season Ping collects together a promising bunch of griffins and gives them all the time in the world to come to themselves. So often they approach their second campaign at the bottom of Class Four or even in Class Five and he's already introduced the likes of Cutlass Perfection and America Supreme to run with immense encouragement this season.

They have that all-important phrase 'future winner' stamped all over them and so did a couple of other Ping horses in yesterday's five trials on the main all-weather circuit. The torrential rain which led to very little work beforehand cleared moments before the barriers were in place for the trials.

So often the winners look good in these heats but can't reproduce their trial form come raceday due to the entirely and far more fundamental pressure of the race itself. And so it may prove with Derek Cruz's Blue And Gold who won the second heat but remains a Hong Kong maiden, despite having dropped to a seemingly winning mark in Class Four. The horse to catch the eye in this trial was Ping's Mount Sapphire who is just the type to run well fresh.

He sauntered home at the first time of asking last season and it looks as if he is being prepared to run well again on his reappearance. He has been given plenty of gallops and this was the second time he has been taken back and wide in his trial and taken very little part at all. Nevertheless, these trial efforts do serve to blow away the early-season cobwebs and Mount Sapphire, who is a sparely-made individual doesn't take too much to get ready. Ping's Manley's Star, a big improver when pushed up in distance last season, was the one to note from the final heat won by Nikim. He was wide all the way and given a very easy time of it but it should be a different story when he tackles 2,000 metres or, preferably, farther.

Derek Cruz won the third heat, too, with Silver Arrow. But this former star griffin is hard to enthuse over the way he capitulated after having a good run to the top of the straight behind Best One on the opening day of the new term. John Moore's Wang Tak Supreme was pushed out to run third to Silver Arrow. Normally it is wise to avoid those ridden to the line in trials as if they have to be ridden to keep up with little pressure on then they've next to no chance to keep up in a race.

But there is one exception - stayers. And Wang Tak Supreme, the beneficiary of Diamond Coast's disqualification last season after Damien Oliver weighed in light, looks all over a reasonable stayer. He shapes as if the maximum trip of 2,400 metres will bring out the best in him and Moore has been giving him plenty of conditioning double rounds on the inside track. Another stayer, Concert Boss, went pleasingly from off the pace behind Silver Arrow. He's now with Neville Begg and looks to have a race well within his compass.