Patience paid off for Jamie Richards at Sha Tin on Sunday when he secured a double, courtesy of Lahore’s breakthrough victory and Romantic Fantasy’s 830-day drought breaker.
Lahore struck for the first time under Zac Purton down the straight in the Class Four Cheung Shan Handicap (1,000m), cruising home by two and a half lengths over Bustling City.
Purton sat off the speed set by Bustling City who was on a one-week backup and had ample room to guide the Hellbent galloper to the lead inside the furlong, setting up a handy win at start 11.
“Very pleased with the way that he won, I thought Zac gave him a beautiful ride. He got a lovely run, got a nice bit of cover, the field split so he was able to see plenty of daylight – no hard luck. He won well and he’s going to cop a bit of a penalty, but he might be able to go on with it,” Richards said.
“He obviously was running well his at first couple of runs and then we thought we’d try and get him out in distance, but unfortunately he doesn’t get around the corners very well, so we went back to the straight and he ran well and then unfortunately had a bleed.”
The four-year-old was first up after returning from an enforced break due to bleeding from both nostrils at Sha Tin on February 1, and has thrived following the use of the world-class Conghua amenities.
“He’s been up to Conghua, used the really good facilities up there for a bit of a break and a freshen up, used the day paddocks and he’s come back in good order,” Richards said.
“I’m really pleased for the owners, they’ve been really patient and the boys have done a good job. I’ve been away as my sister got married on Friday, so a nice little wedding gift getting back to Hong Kong.”
Romantic Fantasy secured a well-deserved win in the Class Four Port Shelter Handicap (1,800m) under regular pilot Alexis Badel.
After several recent placings, the six-year-old Fascinating Rock galloper was able to overhaul Super Goldendragon by a short head following a two-way battle from the 75m mark.
“Nice to get a win with the horse, he’s been knocking on the door, he’s had four seconds. He’s earned some good prize money for his owners, but I was quietly confident he was ready to run well today with a bit of cut in the ground, being a European horse,” Richards said.
“He got a nice ride from Alexis and everything went well, he only won narrowly but the horse that he beat won his last start, so the form might stack up, but let’s see.”
Richards believes time was the key for the Irish-bred galloper, who required a stretch to settle into Hong Kong, while being limited by available races over a longer distance.
“He’s probably a typical European horse that’s just needed a long time to acclimatise, and he’s a staying horse, and there’s only so many races that they can run in,” Richards said.
“He lost his way there for a little bit and we took all the headgear off and went back to nothing, and then he sort of found his form again. He’s a horse that doesn’t take a lot of work. He enjoys being on the fresh side. So it’s been good for the team and very happy with how it went.”
Purton also went on to clinch a brace aboard Superb Spirit, bringing him within six wins of a record-breaking 2,000 Hong Kong victories.
The heavily-backed favourite jumped at $2.5 and delivered accordingly for trainer Francis Lui Kin-wai. Off the back of an impressive trial, the son of Zousain was able to settle behind the leaders and pick up strongly at the 250m. The further the race developed, the better he looked, powering home over the top of Lucrative Eight to win by three quarters of a length.
