Sparkling Knight (116lb) took a large stride forward in his development with a breakthrough win in the Class 4 Macwhinnie Cup (1000m) at Sha Tin on Sunday, zipping home in 55.20s, just 0.08s off the class record.
The four-year-old was no match for the likes of Aethero and Winning Method when he stepped out late last season and then finished out with the washing early this term before being sidelined for a long spell.
“He was out for eight months with a knee problem. He needed that time to recover and thankfully the owner was patient,” Tsui said.
“The break helped him a lot, the time he spent here at Sha Tin and at Conghua (between January and late May), he’s been able to relax and mature – he’s matured physically and in his head.”
Sparkling Knight showed speed to control the lead and when the top-weighted 1.7 favourite Fabulous Eight (131lb) pressed him at the 400m mark, jockey Dylan Mo asked for more and the Holy Roman Emperor gelding stretched five lengths clear.
“That was much better than I expected but he had a light weight and the second and third horses had a lot of weight, so that helped him. Two weeks ago he trialled good and that told me he was healthy,” Tsui said of the 22/1 shot.
Sparking Knight and Dylan Mo, picture Hong Kong Jockey Club
Arculli Red
The Ronald Arculli-owned Red Desert (125lb) was a fitting winner of the day’s second Class 2 contest, the Arculli Trophy Handicap (1200m), to complete a double for the Size stable. Chad Schofield drove the four-year-old to a gusty success from front-runner Highly Proactive (122lb).
“It’s nice to win that race for Mr. Arculli – my dad won a QEII Cup (2004 River Dancer) for him back in the day,” Schofield said. “It’s not my first winner for him but I’m very happy that I could win his own race.
“We had a lovely run in the box seat, he got the gap at the right time and although he had a perfect run he pinned his ears back and fought hard to the line so it was a well-deserved win.”
It’s unlikely that Moreira will have an easier triumph before the season ends than Chancheng Prince in the afternoon’s opener. The Francis Lui-trained grey swept aside limited fellow Griffins by three and a quarter lengths.
That Chairman’s Day Plate (1000m) success took the Brazilian to 127 wins and closed the gap on premiership leader Purton to two. But the Australian hit back aboard the Frankie Lor-trained Chevalier Prince in the Class 4 Chan Trophy Handicap (1400m), making it a case of ‘as you were’.
Antoine Hamelin nailed his 15th Hong Kong win with a peach of a last-to-first ride on Impeccable Fellow in the Class 5 Ryrie Handicap (1400m). The Frenchman steered the Richard Gibson-trained gelding through a sweet rail run, switched out in the home straight and drove on to maintain his fine form.
The Michael Chang-trained Mega Heart (122lb) took the Class 3 Stevenson Cup Handicap (1200m), his third success on the dirt track. Apprentice Jerry Chau judged the seven-year-old’s run to cut down the Moreira-ridden front-runner Utopia Life (132lb) and hold off the Teetan-ridden California Concord (130lb).
