An unorthodox race-day preparation by Olivier Doleuze yielded two of the surprise wins of yesterday's meeting, with the popular Frenchman saluting on Longwah Supreme and Able Speed at big odds, after taking some time out to ride his surfboard behind a speedboat at Sai Kung.
Doleuze showed all the poise he has become famous for in the saddle as he rode the crest of the boat's wake and soaked up some sun earlier last week - and perhaps the surfboard will become a more permanent race-day preparation in the future, following the double, which included The Skol Cup (1,200m) for big-race trainer John Moore.
The highlight of the day, however, was surely the debut performance of Michael Chang Chun-wai's Longwah Supreme, who blitzed his rivals with an effortless 43/4-length victory over fellow newbie Victory Master.
'I was very happy with how well Longwah Supreme raced, Michael gave me this horse to ride in work and he has been a bit nervous and a bit green,' Doleuze said. 'We've tried him with and without blinkers in the morning, he still trialled very greenly last time, but we knew he had good natural ability.
'I was hopeful that he could run a good race, but when I saw the entries I thought we might be a place chance only with Supreme Jewellery in the race.'
Supreme Jewellery was sent out a $1.40 favourite in the HKU Social Sciences Alumni Handicap (1,200m), but failed miserably to miss a place.
