By Leo Schlink
Celebrating a quartet with a string of emerging gallopers at Sha Tin on Saturday, Ricky Yiu outlined long-range hopes to contest the 2027 Hong Kong Derby (Listed, 2000m) with Victor Supreme (Super Seth) after the promising stayer’s crushing victory.
Jubilant after similarly impressive performances from Rising Force (Deep Field), Lucrative Eight (Foxwedge) and Chill Easy (Night Of Thunder), Yiu said Victor Supreme would be aimed at the Four-Year-Old Classic Series, which features the Hong Kong Classic Mile (Listed, 1600m), Hong Kong Classic Cup (Listed, 1800m) and the 150th Hong Kong Derby.
“He won by reasonable margin – I thought he was a winning chance by maybe a length or two, but not in this style,” Yiu, Hong Kong Champion Trainer in 2019/20, said of the Super Seth (Dundeel) gelding’s four-and-a-half lengths romp in the Class 4 Ip Jug Handicap (1800m) under Vincent Ho.
“He’s an up-and-coming long-distance horse, even a mile is a bit sharp. He’ll be one of the Derby candidates. When the first stage Derby entries open, I’ll put him in. The way he looks, he’ll be a decent stayer.”
Yiu won the 2023 Hong Kong Derby with subsequent Hong Kong Triple Crown victor Voyage Bubble (Deep Field).
Taking his season’s tally to 44 wins, Yiu was delighted with the performance of Rising Force, who confirmed his rich promise with all-the-way success in the Class 2 Li Cup Handicap (1200m) for Zac Purton, earning a PPG Bonus of HK$1 million (approx. AU$184,510).
“He won this race like a different horse. That was a great performance by jockey Zac Purton, he rode a very good race. He pinged out of the gate like a bullet, and that’s a big advantage,” Yiu said. “He is a pretty versatile horse. He’s sharp, he’s got natural gate speed – your typical sprinter.
“He might be a horse who’s winning over 100 [rating] because he’s not really exposed yet, he’s only had limited races.”
Lucrative Eight landed the Class 4 Chow Silver Plate Handicap (1200m) under Purton despite having to wait for clear running in the straight before powering to a three-length margin over debutant Road To Glory (Capitalist).
“He [Lucrative Eight] was very naughty going to the gates,” Purton said. “He’s very immature, he might be better next season with blinkers on. Anyway, he’s done a good job, he’s been consistent and I think next season, he’ll show his best.”
Jerry Chau piloted former Irish galloper Chill Easy to an easy win in the Class 3 Lee Trophy Handicap (1400m), completing a stellar day for Yiu.
“Jerry said even around horses he’s ever so relaxed and he just kept going. He’s got a very good mindset and maybe next season, I wouldn’t be surprised if he handled the mile,” Yiu said. “To be honest – looking at the runners I had today – I was almost certain that most of them would run well. Four winners was expected, especially with two of them coming from Zac.”
For all of Yiu’s dominance, Frankie Lor produced the most spectacular winner on the card with Solid State’s (Snitzel) five-and-a-quarter length triumph in the Class 3 Philip Chen Trophy Handicap (1200m) in a striking Hong Kong debut under Alexis Badel, securing a HK$1.5 million (approx. AU$276,770) PP Bonus.
Winless in seven starts in Australia, where he raced as United States for Chris Waller, the Snitzel (Redoute’s Choice) gelding surged to the front and gave nothing else a chance while clocking 1m 08.26s.
“I knew he seemed to be a quality horse and a nice individual,” Badel said. “I trialled him in Conghua and he gave me a great feel. He’s done everything correctly in the morning, so I was very confident from gate two.
“I didn’t plan to lead but he began well and I put him on the rail, used his action. He’s got a lot of speed, big stride and I was surprised to see that he was a maiden in Australia, but he’s obviously a nice horse.”
Lor said: “He’d raced well in Australia, but I think after gelding him, he’s a bit different. In the mornings you could see his barrier trials were good.
“We’ll have to see how many points he gets, but we’ll give him a break for next season. I think 1000 metres, 1200 metres and maybe later on 1400 metres will be suitable for him.”
Francis Lui’s Almighty Warrior (Saxon Warrior) upset $1.10 favourite Jedi Spurs (Cosmic Force) when the Saxon Warrior (Deep Impact) gelding powered clear to win the Purves Quaich Plate (1200m) for Griffins under Ethan Brown, who completed a race-to-race double on John Size’s Noble Fans (All Too Hard) in the Class 5 Swaine Cup Handicap (1200m).
With six wins across the past five meetings and a total of nine victories overall starting his short-term stint in April, Brown was delighted with the brace.
“You could say I’m starting to get the hang of it now,” Brown said. “It’s a good way to finish the season, for sure. I’m getting great support and I’m just happy to execute and show them what I’m capable of.”
Lui also struck with Graceful Heart (Russian Revolution) and Lyle Hewitson in the Class 4 Arculli Trophy Handicap (1400m) after the Russian Revolution (Snitzel) three-year-old crossed from barrier 11 to win comfortably.
Size also completed a double when Noble Deluxe (Toronado) scored in the Class 5 Wong Cup Handicap (1200m, dirt) under Hugh Bowman, propelling the 13-time Hong Kong Champion Trainer to 53 wins for the term, before Pierre Ng’s Healthy Healthy (Per Incanto) burst to victory in the Class 4 Stevenson Cup Handicap (1200m) once Andrea Atzeni found clear running on the gelding.
David Hayes claimed the final dirt race of the season when Bustling City (Starspangledbanner) blitzed his rivals by four-and-a-half lengths to land the Class 4 Chan Trophy Handicap (1200m) for Brenton Avdulla.
“He’s adjusted to Hong Kong, and he’s started running to his trial ability. He’s trialled well and now he’s put it together in a race, and I expect him to be a good horse next season,” Hayes said.
Hong Kong racing continues at Happy Valley on Wednesday night.