RACEDAY REVIEW: Fownes rewarded for patience, Gold Patch shines and Teetan rides by the book

Training Performance of the Day - Caspar Fownes

Caspar Fownes takes the training performance of the day honors after producing Target Audience first-up off a 280-day break to win Race 7 for Class 4 gallopers over 1,200 meters on the all-weather track.

The four-year-old had not raced since July 13 last year and his time on the sidelines was extended after injuring his right fore tendon in mid-October. Fownes had given him only one trial since then, a soft 800m hit-out in late March, but said he had a long and solid preparation for today’s race, even if he feared a lack of match fitness might leave him vulnerable late.

“He did a good job on his tendon, so it’s always hard to bring those types of horses back,” said Fownes after Target Audience made all under Joao Moreira to score at 12-to-one. “But we spent a lot of time with him and he was ready to go to the races. I’m just happy to get the win for the owners, they’ve been patient – good people – and it’s tough to win in this game, but when you do it feels good.”

Horse to Follow - Gold Patch

Francis Lui Kin-wai has high hopes Gold Patch can continue trending in the right direction and play a part in next season’s Classic Series after the three-year-old notched his third win from four starts in the Class 3 1200m contest.

Gold Patch stepped up in class off a half-length win in a moderate Class 4 race, but he confirmed his quality by defeating a strong Class 3 field. What stood out most was the way he did it, as he and Super Express burned along in front through quick sections that were well inside Jockey Club standard times for the grade. Super Express could not sustain the effort in the straight and faded to sixth, while Gold Patch dug deep to score by a length and a half.

“Look at it this way, he seems to have improved because you can see when Super Express came in on him he didn’t give up,” Lui said. “Some young horses will shy away, but I’m happy to see the horse run like that.”

Ride of the Day - Karis Teetan, Nautical Force

John Size was full of praise for Karis Teetan’s winning ride aboard newcomer Nautical Force in the Class 2 1800m contest, which capped a four-timer for the trainer and a treble for the jockey.

Raced under the same name in Britain and Ireland for Johnny Murtagh, Nautical Force had won twice from seven starts before arriving in Hong Kong. He faced a stiff task on debut in deep Class 2 company, albeit with the benefit of a light weight of 115 pounds. Teetan rode for luck from the back and the gaps opened at the right time, allowing him to score comfortably by half a length. More importantly, according to Size, he rode to instruction.

“He rode it exactly the way I told him to. Have a look at the film and that’s what he was told to do. But he’s like that, Karis,” Size said of Teetan. “Being the horse’s first day, he was nervous in the parade, which we knew he would be, so Karis had to put him to sleep straight away so he could finish the race off."