Awesome Fluke sets track record

Ricky Yiu Poon-fai was as surprised as anybody when his six-year-old stayer Awesome Fluke scored an upset win in track record time last night at Happy Valley that will propel him to a career-high rating.

At odds of 18-to-one, Awesome Fluke was the rank outsider in the eight horse field but a well-timed ride from Andrea Atzeni helped Yiu’s horse shave 0.16 seconds off the previous 1650 meter track record set by Woodfire Bro in 2024. 

“Yes, surprising win,” Yiu admitted after Awesome Fluke clocked 1.37.74s for the extended mile. “The light weight helped and the horse has stayed fit, right from the beginning of the season, until now.”

Yiu said Awesome Fluke is one-paced but said the intent from Atzeni, who sat his mount up on the speed and poured the pressure on leader and fellow outsider New Forrest after the passed ‘The Rock’, won him the race.

“That was the right move to go past the leader at the 600m - just like last time he won here he was right up on the pace near the lead,” Yiu said. “The jockey knows him well, and that is the key with him, you have to get going early on him and get that momentum because he can stay all day.”

Even though Aweome Fluke’s rating will now be in the 90s for the first time after 22 starts in Hong Kong, his trainer is keeping his expectations in check with a horse that had 13 starts in Australia and won the 2023 W.A.T.C. Derby over 2400 meters in Perth before he was imported.

“We just keep running in 80 to 100 ratings races - he isn’t young anymore,” Yiu said.

Atzeni then made it a race-to-race double when he won with another on-pace ride over 1800 meters aboard Storm Runner for trainer Pierre Ng Pang-chi.

With the rail out in the wides “C + 3” configuration, Atzeni pressed on to sit outside the lead from barrier 12, then withstood the closing run from Take Action (Breton Avdulla).

Ng equipped Storm Runner with pacifiers for the first time and he believed they made a difference.

“This horse had been running very close but lacked concentration, I think it helped,” Ng said of the gear change.

Strom Runner’s win brought up an early double for Ng, who had won earlier with Victor The Rapid.

“He has had some wide draws - this time the difference was barrier four, he was able to be a bit closer and save ground,” Ng said of Victor The Rapid. “He will stay in Class 4 and be competitive.”