Lakeshore Eagle soared to a third win on the bounce and initiated a mid-card four-timer for Karis Teetan who continued a flaming streak at Sha Tin on Sunday.
While Zac Purton and Joao Moreira are grinding out the odd win or two, ploughing through treacle in their battle for the jockeys’ championship, Teetan is on a steaming roll. In the past six meetings, the Mauritian has collected 12 victories to Purton’s seven and Moreira’s four.
“Things are going well and when you ride winners you get confidence, that’s a big part of it. Also, there’s the support I’m receiving, you can't do what I’m doing without the support and I’m very blessed in that way,” he said.
Teetan’s four came in uninterrupted succession: Hang’s Decision followed Lakeshore Eagle, then came Super Alliances, who rolled into God Of Dragon. The rider ended the day with 81 wins, three short of his personal best, as he rounds out a season that has also featured his marriage in mid-May and a first success in the LONGINES International Jockeys’ Championship back in December.
“It’s taken me a while to figure out how things work in Hong Kong and I’m still learning but I watch Joao and Zac, and just watching what they do and how they ride has helped me learn a lot. I’m really pleased with how things are going, particularly looking ahead to next season,” Teetan said.
Lakeshore Eagle and Karis Teetan, picture Hong Kong Jockey Club
Lakeshore Eagle’s impressive score in the Class 2 Purves Quaich (1600m) also initiated a race-to-race double for trainer Chris So. The Australian-bred is another on the naturally lengthening list of horses to have enjoyed the tranquil environs of the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s Conghua facility.
“Conghua has been good for him, the environment has helped him and a couple of other horses, like Soccer Master, who has improved a lot for going there,” So said.
So and Teetan are looking forward to what next season might hold for the Master Of Design five-year-old.
“I think Lakeshore Eagle has enough in him to go to Class 1,” Teetan said. “He’s getting better, he just keeps stepping up and I think there’s a bit more to come. He’s doing everything right and the best thing about him is that he’s got that turn-of-foot when you ask him.”
Teetan was full of confidence at the point of Lakeshore Eagle’s decisive acceleration, his bearing and the horse’s easy stride being clear indicators, and it wasn’t misplaced.
“I was pretty confident the whole way through because I knew they were going to put the speed on,” he said.
“I could feel from the 1000m metres that he was starting to unwind and just before the straight I squeezed him a little bit and he responded pretty quickly. It was his first start in Class 2 and he had no weight; last time it was a big win with a big weight in Class 3.”
So’s charge took his career tally to six wins from 12 starts but handler and rider believe he could be better over farther.
“Next year we’ll maybe step him up to 1800 metres,” So said, while Teetan added, “That little bit further will just give him more time to get into the race.”
Teetan and So followed up with Hang’s Decision who ended an 18-month run of outs when winning the Class 4 Swaine Cup Handicap (1400m).
“They took the hood off today and it worked – he’s an old fella and maybe that just sparked him up, he was in good condition and we got a nice track through,” Teetan said.
The ‘Mauritian Magician’ then stepped up to unlock the John Size-trained Super Alliances in the Class 4 Wong Cup Handicap (1200m), with the three-year-old making a winning dirt track debut to open his account at start 12.
Teetan’s fourth came in the Class 3 Li Cup Handicap (1800m), an ultimately cosy success atop the Tony Cruz-trained God Of Dragon.
Cruz followed up in the finale, the Class 3 Ip Jug Handicap (1200m) when Neil Callan urged California Gungho to a short-head win. That moved the handler’s tally to 54 wins, five behind trainers’ premiership leader Ricky Yiu, with eight meetings left.
