Hong Kong racing form expert Luke Middlebrook reviews the Sha Tin meeting from Sunday March 15.
Ride of the Day - James Orman, Nezha
David Hall was quick to praise James Orman for his composed ride on Nezha in the fifth event, overcoming a chequered run at a crucial stage to help the four-year-old break through for his first Hong Kong win.
“You have to watch the replay to appreciate how good a win it was. He got taken out of the race before the corner, and the horse in front of him just stopped, and there was nothing Jimmy could do,” Hall said. “He was held up for nearly 200m, and to carry 135lb and give them that sort of start to the finish, and sprint like he did, it was a very good performance.”
Nezha’s all-weather success continued a productive run for the Hall-Orman combination, who also teamed up with progressive sprinter Magnifique last week. Hall said the dirt now looks the obvious path forward for the gelding. “I think Nezha will see a fair bit of the dirt in the future, that’s for sure”.
Horse to Follow - Mr Incredible
Three-year-old debutant Mr Incredible gave freshman trainer Brett Crawford an important first-up win, delivering his first success with an unraced Private Purchase Griffin after a season that has largely been built around horses arriving from other stables.
“Thank goodness, some fresh legs!” Crawford quipped. “He put up some really good trials, but he is still a big baby. But the way he won, because I didn't think it was easy for him, he only got a gap in the last 200m, he has a lot of potential. I think the owners will have a lot of fun with him.”
Crawford said he hopes more newcomers can help lift the stable in the months ahead and then follow up with a strong second season. “I think season one is tough, but it sounds like season two is tougher,” he said. “But for me, it's simple: the game’s about the horse and if you've got the horses, you can do anything.”
Training Performance of the Day - John Size
John Size takes the honors as the champion trainer begins one of his trademark winter charges, striking twice on the card to continue a quietly relentless run over recent weeks in his pursuit of a 14th trainers’ championship.
The master horseman has now prepared five winners from his last 23 runners and finished the day 11 behind championship leader Caspar Fownes. Endeared struck first in the Class 4 over 1,400m and continued his strong association with Zac Purton, with the pair now producing three wins and three seconds from six starts together.
Beauty Fit then returned to winning form in the Class 3 over 1,400m after already scoring over 1,400m and 1,600m this preparation before dropping back to 1,200m last time. Asked about that path, Size said the seemingly unusual race placement was simply a case of following the program.
