Every meeting seems to turn up some new Hong Kong Derby hopeful at this stage of the season but even a solid Class Two win by Pikachu to take his rating into the right zone might not be enough to lure trainer David Ferraris down that path.
Pikachu (Maxime Guyon) enjoyed a perfect trip through the last race, then knuckled down to his task in the final 100m to nail a fellow lightweight, leader Precision King, in the nick of time.
It was Pikachu's first foray into Class Two and that win will take his rating into the high 80s, where a case can be made for inclusion in the Derby field.
But, while Ferraris feels the gelding will run further than the sustained diet of 1,400m races he has been on, he's not sure the time for that change is right now. "You can mess horses up by stepping them up in distance when they're not ready," he said.
"We've had a few things to iron out with this horse as far as his racing manners. He was running about and didn't seem to be concentrating, and if you look at him now with the blinkers on, he is still not perfect but he is going straighter than he was before. So you could say the head gear is having the desired effect and I don't want to set back that progress.
"I certainly think he'll get a mile, no problem, and maybe further than that in time and he is entered for the Derby but he's getting it right at 1,400m now so I might keep him to that for the time being."
A son of Keeper, Pikachu earned a HK$750,000 High Achievement Bonus on top of the HK$855,000 first prize.
"It's like winning two races. I really like this stallion, Keeper. I had one by him, St Didar, a few seasons ago and he won down the straight and also over 1,800m on the dirt and that's typical of them," Ferraris said. "They are genuine, tough and versatile horses and they do very well here."
Stewards grilled jockey Nash Rawiller for some time after the race over his ride on What You Dream, who was second last to the home turn before running on into sixth placing.
