Joao Moreira was not the only one celebrating a big achievement at Sha Tin on Wednesday night. Freshman trainer Frankie Lor brought up 50 winners for the season, taking the Class 5 Deep Water Bay Handicap (1800m) with Furious Pegasus, while he made it 51 before the night was out with Turin Redstar’s victory in the Class 3 South Bay Handicap (1650m).
The magnitude of Lor’s milestone can be measured by the fact that only one other current trainer prepared a half-century of winners in their first season – his former boss, Size, who won the 2001/02 trainers’ title with 58 wins in his inaugural term at Sha Tin.
Frankie Lor celebrates after reaching 50 winners for the season
In fact, Lor is ahead of Size at the same stage of their respective freshman seasons. At the 68-meeting mark, the same point as was reached on Wednesday night, Size was on 50 wins.
“It has been quite a season, it’s amazing,” Lor said. “When I was being interviewed before the season started, I was thinking 20 wins, 30 if I was lucky. I didn’t know the horses I was getting well enough and I didn’t know if they would be good enough, but once I got them, I thought a few of them were on a good rating and could win a few races.
“Horses like Yourthewonforme, Morethanlucky, Diamond Friends and Winner St Paul’s have been great. And Furious Pegasus, too – that’s his third win for me, he’s had a few leg problems but he’s done a great job.”
Lor sits second to Size in this year’s trainers’ championship, 24 wins adrift, and while he doesn’t hope to catch his former mentor, he believes that he can continue his winning run.
“I would hope we might have some horses coming through that still haven’t reached their mark,” Lor said. “The way Turin Redstar won, maybe he might have another win left in him up in grade.”
Perhaps the night’s most electric winner was Goldie Flanker, who took the first section of the Class 4 Repulse Bay Handicap (1200m). Outpaced in the early stages and quickly out of camera shot, the Paul O’Sullivan-trained galloper unleashed a withering turn of foot down the centre of the track under Karis Teetan to reel in his rivals and win by two and a half lengths eased down.
“I remember someone in the media calling him the Class 4 dirt equivalent of Pakistan Star last season,” said a laughing O’Sullivan. “Maybe it’s fitting they’ve both won in the same week. It wasn’t until this time last season that he put it all together and he won three races in a row, so maybe that will be him again this year. He just needs races run to suit.”
Jockey Vincent Ho book-ended the card, winning the opener, the Class 5 Chung Hom Kok Handicap (1200m), on the Caspar Fownes-trained Happy Sound and the last, the Class 3 Stanley Handicap (1200m), on Manfred Man’s All Best Friends.
Racing returns to Sha Tin on Sunday (6 May), where the feature is the G3 Queen Mother Memorial Cup Handicap (2400m).
