Harrison's racing savvy gets Grassland Star home
Gifted Welsh rider David Harrison has earned his reputation as the quiet achiever of the jockeys' room, but he could have been excused for letting out a scream or two after a heady tactical job to get veteran sprinter Grassland Star (13-1) home yesterday.
Harrison, whose no-fuss style has landed him 15 winners this term, has slotted perfectly into the Brian Kan Ping-chee organisation.
And yesterday's victory in the Class Three, 1,200-metre dash rates among his finest efforts for his new mentor.
A noted rater of front-runners, Harrison had Grassland Star smartly away and leading at a virtual canter after two furlongs. The tempo was not to the liking of Mick Kinane and Hong Kong Legend (8.2-1) and that pair dashed up to take over as the field left the back.
Rather than cut his own throat, Harrison elected to take a sit behind Kinane and it was there that the race was won. Hong Kong Legend straightened in front but as he rolled off the fence Harrison was there to spear through and steal a winning break.
Grassland Star finished full of running, pulling 1.5 lengths clear of the game Sterling Star (6.5-1) who got the better of a tiring Hong Kong Legend in the final 50 metres.
Harrison's patience and nouse are proving a great foil for the hard-nosed training techniques of Kan and the pair were unlucky not to salute in the very next race when The King Of Honour (9.8-1) just failed to peg back Ascot Hero (4.8-1 favourite) in a dour conclusion to the Class Five third event over a mile.
Later there was a welcome winner for the sometime combination of trainer Geoff Lane and French pilot Eric Legrix when New Zealand import Silent Partner (19-1) made his second local outing a winning one.
The Palace Music three-year-old made ground against the pattern of the race to score with plenty in hand from Kan's ever-honest Hin Yuen Unicorn (5.3-1) with Willy Kan up.
Strong Win (7-1) was given every chance by Basil Marcus who led and stacked up the field only to fade into third.