A change of tactics do wonders for tiny five-year-old
"It's good when a plan comes together," was the call from South African jockey Richard Fourie when the Andy Leung Ting-wah-trained Creative Union finally won a race after two years. The pint-sized five-year-old had tumbled in 12 starts from an opening handicap rating of 73 to 25, but had put the writing on the wall under Fourie in a trial win. "In his races, he's always been up there and it hasn't suited him. He has been burning himself up and hasn't finished it off," said Fourie, who was having his first race ride on the gelding. "In the trial, I rode him quietly and he got home well and I did the same today and he ran on nicely." The win took Leung along to nine successes in his final season. Alan Aitken
A modest galloper revels on the dirt to take a lesser feature
It didn't carry quite the ring of winning the Classic Cup or the Chairman's Sprint, but little feature fish are sweet for trainer Manfred Man Ka-leung, who claimed the Yan Oi Tong Cup. Man had saddled up Eagle Regiment to win the first of the Group One domestic sprints this season last month, but that gelding was at home in his box and a prisoner of his dislike for circle racing when the second leg of the Speed Series was won by Lucky Nine. Man had to make do with the modest Class Three on the all-weather, won by a modest galloper in All Friends (Keith Yeung Ming-lun), in modest fashion. "Light weight, a good draw and he likes the dirt. He deserved to win," was the trainer's summary. Alan Aitken
Clark makes his mark on lower grade stayer
While his first Hong Kong Group One was the highlight for Tim Clark, the jockey did make his presence felt earlier on the card as well, scoring with improving lower grade stayer Dars Auto. Clark is striking up a partnership with the gelding, who made it two from his last three despite sitting wide and without cover throughout the 1,800m Class Four. "A nice effort. It might not look great but I think he's a horse who likes some room and he'd have won last time as well if I'd been wider on him instead of riding a bit too cute," Clark said. "His ideal is working into the race around the outside, like the day he won on the dirt. In saying that, he still had to keep going after covering ground and did it well." Alan Aitken
