Back-up plan: How David Hayes is hitting on the seven day turnaround at Happy Valley

David Hayes has turned the quick back-up into a genuine Happy Valley play – and it’s paying off.

Hayes was second in last season’s trainers’ premiership and he is second heading into Happy Valley tonight – just one win behind leader Caspar Fownes. Hayes brings an eight-strong team to the city circuit, including three runners on the seven-day turnaround: Oriental Surprise (Race 2, Class 5, 1200m), Star Brose (Race 3, Class 4, 2200m) and Harmony N Blessed (Race 6, Class 3, 1200m).

Recent results and statistics say the ploy isn’t guesswork: since Hayes returned to Hong Kong, his seven-day back-up runners have been potent, especially at the Valley. 

That edge showed again last week when Soleil Fighter repeated the trick – repeating the feat from 12 months ago – adding to a rolling list of horses like Romantic Son and Akashvani that Hayes has kept on the boil with a quick return.

“When a horse backs up and they have eaten well, they are always hard to beat – especially if they go forward,” Hayes said after Soleil Fighter’s tough win, referring to his unrelenting on-pace style.

Hayes-trained runners on the seven-day turnaround often don’t just hold their level – they improve. Since Hayes returned to the Hong Kong training ranks for the 2020-21 season, he has backed up 73 runners within seven days or less for eight wins, a strike rate of 11 percent, and a top-three strike rate of 23 percent. Thirty-nine of those runners improved on their last-start finishing position, nine matched it.

Happy Valley has been the place to catch his back-up runners: six wins for a 20.7 percent strike rate, compared with two wins from 44 starters at Sha Tin for a 4.5 percent strike rate.

Oriental Surprise runs on the seven-day turnaround for the fourth time in his career and has placed twice with the same set-up. Still chasing his first win at start 22, he came into barrier four from gate 10 after going down by a head to Lucky Generations in the opening race at Happy Valley last week.

In-form Jerry Chau Chun-lok takes over from Zac Purton and it is only the third time the leading local rider has ridden for Hayes in the past 12 months and just their second pairing this season. 

Star Brose aims to keep his track-and-distance record intact. He broke through over 2200m three runs ago in Class 5, then stepped back up into Class 4 and was unsuited on the all-weather. He switched back to Happy Valley last time and closed fast into fifth, one and a half lengths off Stormi.

Harmony N Blessed returns off a late-fading ninth from barrier 12 over the same course and distance, but he draws barrier 3 this time. It is the third time he has backed up within seven days, and it proved successful in March 2024 when he came off a last-start 10th and bounced back for his seventh career win