The Post caught up with the city’s top handlers to get the lowdown on their battalions for the new season. From rising stars to superstars, they outline their hopes for the 2024-25 campaign in part two of the HK Stable Rundown.
John Size
Beauty Eternal
“He’s healthy and well and seems to be in good order. He’ll have a trial soon and after we see his trial, we’ll decide where to begin.”
Howdeepisyourlove
“Howdeepisyourlove is similar to Beauty Eternal. He was racing and had a break and seems in pretty good shape. He’s been well rested and I think he’s training up OK.”
Young Champion
“We stopped him a bit earlier and he seems OK. He’s had a trial already and it looks like he’s going well enough. He’ll trial again soon and he’s going to be an exciting horse for a lot of people, so let’s hope he doesn’t disappoint anybody.”
Wunderbar
“He’s had a few trials and he seems to have coped with them quite well, so I think he should be back at the races pretty soon. I haven’t made a definite plan but it won’t be too far away.”
Francis Lui Kin-wai
Copartner Prance
“He’s done OK over the summer and there will be another 1,200m race coming for him after he trialled on Tuesday. But, there aren’t too many options for him.”
Chancheng Glory
“We’ll wait for the Sha Tin Trophy next month. He’s done well in the break.”
Call Me Glorious and Patch Of Theta
“They have both done OK, but for these kind of horses it’s hard to find a race for them. We have to search for the right one.”
Packing Hermod
“He’s good and he galloped this week. Zac [Purton] said he’s improved over the break, so I’m happy. I’m looking forward to a lot of horses this year, but I think he’s the one.”
Tony Cruz
California Spangle
“He’s at Sha Tin and I’m very happy with his condition up to now. I’ll probably get him started in the Premier Bowl in October then go from there.”
Beauty Joy
“He’s an eight-year-old now but he’s in excellent condition. I’ll go back to the same programme as last year.”
Five G Patch and La City Blanche
“I’m very happy with both of them but they’re in Conghua right now because there isn’t a race for them. They can’t really race over a mile so I’ll have to wait until the end of October or early November before their racing starts.”
Stunning Peach
“He’s been gelded after last season and he’ll have to wait until later in October before he can run a race. We are all very hopeful he can be a Derby horse and we are positive he’s got a good chance. He has a fantastic attitude, a good character, he’s training very well and everything is good about him.”
Frankie Lor Fu-chuen
Happy Together
“He looks OK. He’s trialled once in Conghua and I’ll trial him once more. Maybe the target for him will be the Sha Tin Trophy in October. He looks like he could have a little bit more to give.”
Bottomuptogether
“He’s trialled once already and I’ll trial him again and run him at the end of this month in Class Three over 1,200m. He needs to relax if we want to go to the Classic Series, so we’ll see how he’s going.”
One to follow this season
“Elite Alliance [formerly Battle Cry] looks like a nice horse. He’s a [private purchase] from Ireland and he’s been going well. I’ll trial him next week.”
Manfred Man Ka-leung
Lucky Sweynesse
“He still needs time. He’s started working now with some slow cantering at the track, but I’m not sure when he will be back. We’ll have to see, maybe after a few months he’ll be OK.”
Dennis Yip Chor-hong
Massive Sovereign
“He’s OK and he’s just started to gallop. I think he’ll be back to the races for the Group Three Ladies’ Purse in November. Before that I’ll probably give him two trials and see how he’s going.”
Mark Newnham
Full Credit
“He’ll run on September 22 in the Class Two. He’s shown good improvement all the way through and I think he’s improved again since last season. He’s well suited to Hong Kong, he’s a big strong animal, he eats well and he’s got a good racing pattern, so I think we haven’t found his mark yet.”
Horses to follow this season
“Alsonso trialled really well a couple of times towards the end of last season and King Of Dubai is another one who trialled very well in the same trial actually. They’ll both trial again and be ready to go towards the end of the month or beginning of October.”
Jamie Richards
Young Achiever
“Hopefully he’ll be a nice miler who can work his way up the ratings this season. He’ll trial a couple of times and we’ll see how sharp he is to see whether he kicks off at 1,200m or 1,400m.”
Courier Aladdin
“He’s done well over the summer and he’s trialling next week. I wanted to give him a bit of time off and hopefully he’s a progressive horse.”
Horses to follow this season
“We had a few horses last season who placed and weren’t able to win like Storming Dragon, Lucky Touch and Yee Cheong Raider. I’m hoping those horses can take the next step up as four-year-olds.”
David Eustace
One to follow this season
“The Racing Club horse is a very nice horse, Young Emperor. He’s had three starts, won a nice handicap in Ireland and he’s settled in great. He’s probably a few weeks off a run, but he’s nice.”
