French jockey Maxime Guyon geared up for a big two weeks ahead when he partnered his Hong Kong Classic Mile ride Gonna Run in a crucial, fitness-building all-weather track trial at Sha Tin yesterday.
Guyon, who returned at the New Year's Day meeting and is still in search of the first winner of his stint, will ride the French import when he attacks the HK$8 million event first-up next Sunday.
A week later, Guyon will be back in the hot seat as he rides Ambitious Dragon for the first time since his shock defeat on the horse more than three years ago in the 2011 Jockey Club Mile.
Gonna Run, a winner of three from four in France and fifth in the French Derby, is rated 92 but won't have raced for more than nine months when he resumes.
After a quiet outing at Happy Valley two weekends ago, Gonna Run was given a pipe opener as he settled in behind the speed and then burst through late to nab Red Peony (Umberto Rispoli) on the line.
Fitness isn't a problem for Fownes' other Classic Mile entrant, Gun Pit (Olivier Doleuze), and he was given a far easier time of it as he cruised around.
Third in the heat was another of Fownes' Hong Kong Derby entries, 76-rated Renaissance Art (Vincent Ho Chak-yiu). Having his second trial he was pushed to sit handy and stuck on well despite having only arrived in mid-November after a long lay-off.
Tuesday's batch of 11 heats gave trial watchers plenty to mull over, and while all eyes were on Tony Millard's Classic Mile favourite Divine Calling in the opening round of the morning, there were some other four-year-olds getting ready for imminent race starts behind him, including one of the star grey's stablemates.
Millard's South African import Golden Sleep (Guyon) has now had five trials, and after a setback in early December the 89-rated colt should be nearing his local debut.
As with most South African imports,the 2013 Cape Guineas winner has had to endure arduous quarantine requirements and will have not raced for well over a year when he next steps out.
He has now had five trials, but it was a heart irregularity after one of them that slowed his progress in early December.
Equipped with a crossed nosed band for the first time after he pulled hard during his last trial, and although a touch warm, he travelled in a kinder manner for Guyon and finished off reasonably well.
Finishing behind him and desperately in search of fitness ahead of the four-year-old series was Me Tsui Yu-sak's 88-rated French import Flight Hero (Howard Cheng Yue-tin), with follow Derby hopeful, Dennis Yip Chor-hong's 86-rater Brilliant Shine (Zac Purton), kept up to the mark before he chases four straight wins at his next start.
Another horse of note trialing well was Group One winning sprinter Eagle Regiment (Olivier Doleuze), who makes his return in the Kent & Curwen Centenary Sprint Cup in just over two weeks.
It will be the now seven-year-old’s first start since an unplaced finish in the same race 12 months earlier, after winning the event in 2012 and 2013. He looked well having his third trial after a horror year, which included a suspensory injury and colic surgery in June.
Pikachu (Neil Callan) was in the unique situation of having to pass a trial after a last-start victory, the reason being a requested gear change to blinkers required approval of stewards. Stipes approved the gear change, although Pikachu did race keenly in the new gear and it remains to be seen whether he goes ahead with the plan on raceday, particularly if he steps up in trip.
Callan was also aboard a promising import to keep an eye out for, Andreas Schutz-trained four-year-old Our Generation, which has been nursed along after suffering a tendon injury in March last year.
Already owned by Leung Kai-fai in England, Our Generation was one from one, qualifying with Callan aboard in a two-year-old maiden at Kempton in December 2013, but missed five months of work because of his injury before returning to the track in August.
Our Generation looked good in his third trial as he finished alongside Benno Yung Tin-pang’s unbeaten four-year-old Righteous (Purton), who will make his seasonal return in the bottom of Class Three soon.
A horse with perhaps the silliest name of recent times, Fish N’ Chips, is showing some serious talent on the track as he approaches his local debut for trainer Almond Lee.
Lee might be fighting for his career as he sits on two strikes under the performance criteria and needs 15 wins this season to continue training, but he is making a good fist of it so far with nine wins.
Fish N’ Chips (Keith Yeung Ming-lun) has now won both of his trials since arriving, and even though he was pushed to win a 1,050m heat, he showed enough pace to lead easily. Fish N’ Chips brings a rating of 69 after a tough win at Kempton Park in September 2013.
Another Lee-trained galloper doing good things is Happy Rocky (Brett Prebble), who has won twice this season but still finds himself at the bottom of Class Three. He was able to show some good early pace in his 1,200m dirt trial, giving the horse more tactical options next time he races.
