While it was Jamie Kah who plundered the most Hong Kong riches with her Classic Mile success, the other overseas stars who jetted in for Sunday’s Stewards’ Cup meeting certainly didn’t miss out.

New Zealander James McDonald – who won the Hong Kong Cup last month aboard Romantic Warrior – was first to get in on the act, landing his longest-priced Hong Kong winner when Jamie Richards-trained newcomer Happy For All won the Class Four Glorious Day Handicap (1,200m) at Sha Tin.

Of the three gallopers making their debuts in the Glorious Day Handicap, punters preferred Further Forward ($2.60 favourite) and Lost Child ($7.85 third elect) over Happy For All, who jumped as the 10th pick at $34.85 following three plain trials.

However, Happy For All did not know his market price and he ran on strongly to kick off his career with a neck win over Easy Snip, with Further Forward (11th) and Lost Child (seventh) performing poorly.

“He’s nice, he’s progressive, but he’s still pretty green and raw. He got to the front and just floated, so he’ll improve,” said McDonald of Happy For All, who usurped John Moore-prepared 2012 Group One Champions Mile hero Xtension ($18) as the Kiwi jockey’s most unexpected Hong Kong winner.

Richards, for whom Happy For All was his 12th winner this term and his second long-priced triumphant debutant – Holy Power upset the odds at $29.65 on December 18, missed seeing his compatriot salute the judge because he is attending New Zealand Bloodstock’s National Yearling Sale at Karaka.

In addition to winning the Classic Mile aboard Ricky Yiu Poon-fai’s Voyage Bubble, Kah took out the Class Three Able Friend Handicap (1,650m) with Royal Bomb and trainer Caspar Fownes made it clear how much he’d like to see the Australian rider join the ranks of Hong Kong’s lightweight jockeys.

“It was a beautiful ride. She’s a great jockey and I hope we can get here,” Fownes said of Kah.

“We need someone like her. I’ve been watching her career for a long time. She’s gifted. Hong Kong could benefit from having her here, riding at 115 pounds. Horses run for her. It’s wonderful to see how well she’s done. Hopefully, she can have Hong Kong on the radar for a stint in the near future.”

Star Englishman Moore also left Sha Tin with a double, winning the Class Four Seasons Bloom Handicap (1,000m) on Juneau Flash and the Class Four Helene Paragon Handicap (1,400m) on Unpresuming, both for 11-time champion trainer John Size.

Size leapfrogs Lor

The victories of Juneau Flash and Unpresuming completed a treble for Size after the earlier victory of Toronado Phantom in the Class Two Heung Yee Kuk Cup (1,200m), with the veteran handler assuming the lead in the trainers’ premiership.

Size saddled one-third of the nine-runner field and very few punters expected the outsider of his squad, Toronado Phantom ($38.75), to beat Beauty Tycoon ($2.8 favourite), Power Koepp ($7.05 third elect) and the rest of the sprinters to the prize.

Toronado Phantom, whose owners pocketed a bonus of HK$1 million in addition to the winner’s cheque and trophy, responded to Size’s removal of pacifiers to win a Sha Tin turf race for the first time since his May 2021 course-and-distance victory on debut.

Size’s treble lifted his tally this season to 32 wins, one more than defending champion Frankie Lor Fu-chuen, whose 10 runners all fired blanks.

Man rings up 600

Run Run Good’s first Hong Kong win was Manfred Man Ka-leung’s 600th local victory as the 65-year-old trainer stayed on track for his best-ever season.

Man, who hopes young speedster Lucky Sweynesse will win next weekend’s Group One Centenary Sprint Cup (1,200m) to provide both of them with their first elite-level victories, trained 43 winners in the 2009-10 campaign, a term in which griffins London China Town and Tai Sing Yeh each won five races.

The Class Five Giant Treasure Handicap (1,650m) was Run Run Good’s 24th start. After entering the system in October 2020 on a rating of 52, Run Run Good dropped to a mark of 25 before his patient owners posed for a photograph in the winner’s enclosure.

Man did not know Run Run Good was his 600th Hong Kong winner until the Jockey Club made a post-race announcement to the Sha Tin crowd.

History-making Kah rates Classic Mile winner Voyage Bubble to perfection

“I’m surprised because I’m never counting the number. I’m just doing my job,” said Man, who indicated he would like the Jockey Club to license him to train next season beyond the usual retirement age of 65. “If they give the licence, why not?”

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