It wasn’t hard to find the day’s standout training performance: Brett Crawford celebrated his first Hong Kong victory in the opening event with Speedy Smartie, then doubled up two races later with Ninja Derby.
Crawford has just 27 horses on his books and had sent only five runners to the races before Sunday’s meeting. He is clearly favoring quality over quantity, and of those first five runners three had already placed, including Speedy Smartie on opening day.
Ninja Derby’s success, first-up over 1,600 meters and off a solitary 1,200m dirt trial, was particularly gratifying for the South African. The horse arrived via transfer from Tony Cruz rated 28 with a modest two-from-31 record. With previous winning form at Happy Valley, the six-year-old could strike again in the grade.
Packing Phoenix made hard work of his debut victory as the 1.5 favorite, but jockey Zac Purton urged punters not to judge the narrow margin too harshly.
“The Hong Kong racing environment is so tough for new horses,” Purton said. “He had never been off the bit until today and you get into a race – they went quick – and horses have to learn how to handle what is thrown at them. It wasn’t necessarily pretty, but what I liked about it is that he showed toughness.
“When I asked him to dig deep he was able to do it. A lot of horses in that scenario fold, but he was up for the fight. He has a lovely attitude and I like his action. He is a nice little horse.”
The win formed part of a treble for Purton, who now has 10 wins from the first six meetings of the season and sits five clear on top of the standings as he chases his ninth championship.
Jerry Chau Chun-lok skipped the Season Opening to ride Self Improvement in the Korea Sprint at Seoul, but – despite the profile-raising nature of the victory – genuine opportunities had been relatively scarce since his return.
Chau had just one win from 24 rides heading into the Tailorbird Handicap but made the most of his chance on Lucky Sam Gor for trainer Mark Newnham.
Drawn 14 and with the rail out in the “C + 3” position, Chau was forced to go back to last after failing to find a two-wide spot. From there he showed patience and aggression, gradually improving his position before weaving through late to land an impressive victory.
