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Training Performance of the Day - Pierre Ng Pang-chi
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It has not been a season to write home about for Pierre Ng Pang-chi, but a race-to-race double on Sunday kept a late pulse going and offered a little hope for next term.
Ng went into the meeting 14th on the trainers’ ladder with 29 wins, well short of the 41 he posted in his debut season, the 69 he amassed when he was pipped by Francis Lui Kin-wai in 2023-24 and the 40 he trained last term.
This month, at least, has brought something to take into the break.
Frantanck struck on the first day of July, Healthy Healthy followed at the next meeting and Le Zonda kept the run going at Happy Valley last Wednesday. Then came Sunday’s double, with Green Angel and Prestige Always scoring in consecutive races to give Ng five winners for the month heading into the season finale at Happy Valley.
“It’s been a really quiet season for me, so we’re just hoping to get more towards the end,” Ng said. “Fresh start. Go again.”
Ride of the Day - Zac Purton, Double Bingo
Ricky Yiu Poon-fai gave Zac Purton plenty of credit for Double Bingo’s first win for the stable, seven starts after the five-year-old joined the yard.
Yiu said Double Bingo is straightforward to train, but not quite so simple once the gates open. That is where Purton made the difference.
Double Bingo landed in the right spot, one out and three back, but never fully relaxed underneath Purton. The winning touch came in the straight, when Purton switched the whip from his left hand to his right at just the right time and squeezed out the response needed.
It was enough for Double Bingo to prevail by a short head in a three-way finish.
“At the top of the straight I saw Zac Purton using his left hand a lot – one, two, three, four times,” Yiu said. “He waited for the right moment to change to the right, and the horse responded. He really started to get going after he swapped hands.
“Great effort, credit to the jockey.”
Horse to Follow - Grand Patch
Manfred Man Ka-leung hopes he has a Classic Series prospect for next season after Grand Patch broke through at his fourth start.
The three-year-old had shaped like a horse who would improve with racing after being slowly away in his earlier starts, but he took a step forward when stretched to 1,400m and fitted with cheekpieces for the first time last start.
He built on that again on Sunday, showing better gate speed from barrier two to settle five back on the rail.
There were still signs of greenness in the straight, and Grand Patch had two rivals in front of him at the 100m, but Vincent Ho Chak-yiu got serious late and the Grand Patch knuckled down to score by a head.
“The horse needed to be stepped up to 1,400m. The 1,200m is too short for him,” Man said. “He had heavy contact last race and that affected his sprint in the closing stages."
