Andrea Atzeni continued his brilliant patch of form with a double at Sha Tin on Sunday, headlined by Young Champion’s gutsy win in the Class Two CW Chu Alumni Handicap (1,200m).
The John Size-trained sprinter went into the race on the back of 17 straight defeats, but he had put the writing on the wall with a trio of unlucky runs at both Sha Tin and Happy Valley.
There were no hard-luck stories on this occasion, however, with the Zoustar galloper landing in the box seat from barrier one and after popping off heels heading into the straight, he showed a willing attitude to fend off Patch Of Stars.
It was a win that was a long time in the making and Size is hoping he can kick on from here for the rest of the campaign.
“I think he’s been quite unlucky in his last three runs with the trip – today everything went perfectly. He put himself straight there to win the race and he actually fought today too and showed a bit of character; he was there to get beat but didn’t, so I’m very pleased,” Size said.
“I think he could win again – that was a solid win. There were some very good horses in the race – they may not have all done what they wanted to do but they were still in it and he’s beaten them.”
It was the second leg of a double for Atzeni, who guided Shotgun to a facile success in the second section of the Class Four New Asia Alumni Handicap (1,400m) for trainer David Hall.
The son of Charm Spirit had run riot in a trial at Conghua earlier this month by nearly eight lengths and translated that to the racetrack, making all the running to salute by an eased down one-and-three-quarter lengths.
Lui stays on pace
Francis Lui Kin-wai kept himself in the discussion for a wide-open trainers’ premiership with a double on the day, spearheaded by The Golden Knight going back to back in the Class Three Morningside And Lee Woo Sing Alumni Handicap (1,600m).
Awarded his maiden success in the stewards’ room earlier in the month, there was no doubt about him doubling his tally after he stuck his neck out to deny Endued in a ding-dong finish to the finale.
Always travelling well in midfield, the gap opened up like the Red Sea in the straight for Harry Bentley, who surged into the lead 180m out and fended off Endued by a short head.
“He’s proved last time wasn’t a fluke, he really won the race. Harry said the horse really fought to get to the front and when he got there, he saved for himself,” Lui said.
Lui kick-started his day with the victory of King Dance, who took out the Class Four CUHK Alumni Cup (1,400m) on his first start of the campaign on the turf.
An unconsidered $34.6 chance on the back of five dirt runs this season, including a win two starts ago, he relished the step up to 1,400m with a power-packed finish to surge past Francis Meynell and overcome stall 13.
“I thought I would just try to step him up to 1,400m today and I’m glad that it worked. Now that we know he suits both surfaces, it opens options for us,” said Lui.
The trainer now sits in joint-fourth in the trainers’ premiership on 40 winners, five behind leader Mark Newnham.
Satono Reve on Champions trail
Satono Reve produced a superb performance to win the Group One Takamatsunomiya Kinen (1,200m) at Chukyo racecourse on Sunday for the second year running, ahead of a likely tilt at the Group One Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1,200m) next month.
The Noriyuki Hori-trained sprinter settled midfield under Christophe Lemaire, before letting down strongly in the straight to run past his rivals in a race-record time of 1:06.30.
He crushed the record by 0.4 seconds, beating Red Mon Reve into second, while Win Carnelian finished third.
Satono Reve ran in the Group One Hong Kong Sprint (1,200m) in December, where he was ninth behind the world’s best sprinter Ka Ying Rising. He also ran in that race the year prior, where he was a much closer third.
Elsewhere, Calandagan gained redemption in the Group One Dubai Sheema Classic (2,400m) at Meydan, defeating a game West Wind Blows by three quarters of a length.
Beaten in the race 12 months ago by Danon Decile, the Francis-Henri Graffard-trained star arrived on the back of four consecutive wins, including a jaw-dropping success in the Group One Japan Cup (2,400m).
He made no mistake on this occasion, hunting down the long-time pacesetter West Wind Blows by a margin that does not do justice to the dominance of his victory.
The Gleneagles galloper will likely continue on his travels this year, but a trip to Hong Kong for a clash with Romantic Warrior in the Group One QE II Cup (2,000m) seems doubtful.
The feature of Meydan’s card, the Group One Dubai World Cup (2,000m) saw an upset as global superstar Forever Young suffered his second odds-on defeat in the race, this time at the hands of Magnitude.
The US-trained four-year-old denied the chance for Forever Young to overtake Romantic Warrior as the world’s highest-earning racehorse in the process.
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