Valley Delight for Fownes

By Jack Dawling 

Caspar Fownes knows how to roar one of his runners home, but when Autumn Delight got his head in front at Happy Valley last night, the trainer’s celebrations from the city track’s weighing room felt that little bit louder.

That’s because Fownes was delighted to see Autumn Delight record his first win after a series of injuries, which have interrupted the four-year-old’s career since he arrived at the “King of the Valley’s” yard in August 2023.

“It’s nice when you can get a result with horses that have had a lot of problems,” Fownes told The Standard. “We enjoy it that bit more because we’re there hands-on working with them. 

“You’re bringing them back into form, nurturing them and getting them there but then they fall by the wayside and you’ve got to start from scratch again and slowly build up.”

Autumn Delight only managed two runs as a three-year-old. He was found to be lame the day after his debut in February 2024 and suffered a tendon injury only two weeks after he returned to Sha Tin for his second appearance in June last year.

He reappeared with a respectable fifth in April after 301 days off the track and followed that effort with a below-par performance over 1,400 meters at Sha Tin and a career-best fourth over Happy Valley’s 1,200m course last month.

Fownes hopes that the gelding can continue to take a step forward after his Class 4 win at start six last night.

“I think this horse will improve and hopefully win another race before the end of the season,” Fownes said. “I think he’s quite versatile. He can handle Sha Tin or Happy Valley, but at this stage we’ll just keep him here because he’s still learning.”

Autumn Delight landed in a great position in third under Sardinian jockey Andrea Atzeni, who proceeded to track the steady pace set by the Jamie Richards-trained eight-year-old, Colonel.

Atzeni urged Autumn Delight home, took the lead 200m out and kept his mount up to his work in the closing stages for a relatively cozy half-length victory.

“The draw helps at Happy Valley and he got in a good position and got going before the corner,” Fownes added before thanking the Winning Delight Syndicate for keeping the faith. “The owners are very loyal and it’s great to get a result for them.”

Fownes did not have to wait long to claim his second win of the evening and 25th of the season at Happy Valley courtesy of Capital Legend in the following race.