John Size out to defend and extend in Sha Tin Group 3 double-header

Sunday’s Group 3 double-header at Sha Tin gives John Size the chance to defend one title and strengthen his record in another. 

The Sha Tin Vase Handicap over 1,200 meters and Lion Rock Trophy Handicap (1,600m) headline the 11-race card and Size saddles nine runners across the meeting. Raging Blizzard leads Size’s Sha Tin Vase defense, while Sky Jewellery aims to give the champion trainer a third Lion Rock Trophy victory.

The Lion Rock Trophy, first run in 2016, has quickly developed a clear profile. It has become a race for progressive horses, either coming out of the Four-Year-Old Classic Series or confirming themselves on the rise. Only two three-year-olds have won the race: Rapper Dragon, who took the inaugural edition before sweeping the following season’s Classic Series, and Champion’s Way, who landed the 2019 running at just his seventh career start.

There are no three-year-olds trying to force their way into the conversation this year, but the four-year-old presence is strong. Sky Jewellery, Winning Ovation and Patch Of Cosmo all bring above-average formlines and are trying to join an honor roll already shaped by four-year-olds, including Booming Delight, The Golden Age, Sky Darci, Beauty Eternal, Galaxy Patch and Pray For Mir.

Sky Jewellery and Winning Ovation both missed this season’s Four-Year-Old Classic Series through enforced layoffs, but have made up for lost time since returning. Winning Ovation injured his left fore tendon in May last year and has won three of his four starts since returning, while Sky Jewellery bled from both nostrils after a November barrier trial and is unbeaten in two runs back.

Size was matter-of-fact about Sky Jewellery’s bleed, describing it as a condition the horse would have to manage for the rest of his career.

“It’s always going to be there. He’s always going to be susceptible to that,” Size told The Standard. “But we’ll just press on and we’ve got to have faith that he’s fine. So far we’ve been lucky this preparation. He’s come back well and he’s raced well, and he’s probably done what you’d hope he’d do.”

Sky Jewellery is expected to head the market and the race’s history says that matters. The Lion Rock Trophy has been unusually kind to favorites, although the pattern comes with a quirk: they have either won or missed the top three entirely.

Size hopes Sky Jewellery can keep that pattern intact. 

“He is continually having to improve up in grade and against classier horses, but he seems to be capable of doing that, so hopefully he can continue the trend, which would help me win the race,” he said.

The two beaten favorites were Beauty Legacy, who started at 3.0 in 2020 and finished eighth after over-racing and proving difficult for Joao Moreira, and Johannes Brahms, who started at 3.7 last year and finished seventh before being found to have blood in the trachea.

Favorites at 2.5 or shorter are eight from eight in the Lion Rock Trophy, including three odds-on winners: Champion’s Way at 1.8 in 2019, Beauty Joy at 1.6 in 2022 and Beauty Eternal at 1.4 in 2023.

There has still never been a double-figure winner of the race. The only two non-favorite winners were Ka Ying Star at 6.5 in 2020 and Pray For Mir at 8.9 last year. 

Size is also chasing a third Sha Tin Vase victory with Raging Blizzard, who drops from Group 1 company into handicap conditions after spending much of the season in Ka Ying Rising’s shadow.

Helios Express won the race for Size last year off a similar campaign, but Raging Blizzard must do it under top weight of 135 pounds.

That puts him at the extreme end of Sha Tin Vase weight history. Since 2005, 14 of the 21 winners have carried 123 pounds or less, while only five have shouldered 130 pounds or more.

Lucky Sweynesse set the benchmark when carrying 135 pounds to win in 2023, and Little Giant at 133 pounds, Peniaphobia at 130 pounds and Captain Sweet at 131 pounds show the race is not beyond proven class under big weights. Even so, the balance still sits lower in the handicap.

Courier Wonder carried 118 pounds in 2021, Cordyceps Six had 113 pounds in 2022, Ka Ying Rising carried 115 pounds in 2024 and Helios Express had 123 pounds last year.

For Size, the weight is the price Raging Blizzard pays for holding his own in Group 1 company.

“In the Group 1 races he’s been quite good. He hasn’t been disappointing at any point,” Size said. “So to come back to a handicap, there’s probably a big drop in class and that’s why he gets the weight.

“It’s always interesting to see if they can handle that, but normally horses that have been racing in Group 1s, when they come back to a handicap, they’re usually pretty competitive anyway.”

𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗔𝗽𝗽 ↓