Training Performance of the Day - Pierre Ng
Pierre Ng Pang-chi could hardly have asked for a more auspicious start to the season, sending out the aptly named Good Fortune to win the opening race of the 2026-27 campaign.
The victory provided an early boost for Ng after a challenging previous term, with the trainer finishing 14th in the championship with 31 winners, but he is hoping a faster start can set the tone for the months ahead.
“It’s a good sign, and hopefully we can keep going strong,” Ng said. “We have talked about it during the off-season — we have to be quick and sharp. Hopefully we can get a lot of winners in the first two months. The horse had shown us something at the trials.”
Ng also praised apprentice Nichola Yuen Hang-yiu’s ride aboard Good Fortune, who broke through for his first victory at start 12 at the age of seven.
“She did brilliantly,” Ng said. “We just said to be positive, and we were hoping we could travel behind the front pack, and we did. From there we got the clear run and got the job done.”
Horse to follow – Baby Sakura
Baby Sakura kept himself in the Classic Series conversation with a determined first-up victory in the Class 3 1400m contest, becoming the first of Francis Lui Kin-wai’s four-year-olds to make an impact this season.
Baby Sakura enjoyed the perfect run from barrier one, settling behind the leaders, but found himself held up turning for home with Aeroinvincible ahead and Beauty Crescent looming to his outside. As Lui has often highlighted with this horse, Baby Sakura showed his fighting qualities when it mattered most, forcing his way through late to get his nose down in a three-way finish.
Lui has assembled one of the strongest groups of four-year-olds heading towards the Classic Series, with boom galloper Hot Delight the headline act. However, Baby Sakura, Superb Spirit and Irish-bred griffin Almighty Warrior all showed enough promise last season to suggest Lui’s hand is deeper than than one headline act.
Racing off a mark of 75, Baby Sakura will rise into the low 80s after registering his fourth win from seven starts, giving Lui the breathing space required to place him patiently as he builds towards the Classic Mile.
Ride of the Day – Matthew Chadwick
Matthew Chadwick silenced Sha Tin with the biggest upset of the opening meeting, guiding Chris So Wai-yin--trained rank outsider Sing Dragon to victory at monster odds in the seventh race.
It was a timely success for Chadwick, who endured one of his toughest seasons on record last term, and the jockey made the most of his opportunity with a perfectly judged ride.
Sent out at triple-figure odds of 105-to-one, Chadwick was positive from barrier eight, sending Sing Dragon forward before securing the ideal position behind the two leaders, Drombeg Banner and Soleil Fighter. He peeled off heels turning for home, but had to be at his strongest in the closing stages as the swoopers arrived.
Chadwick extracted every ounce from Sing Dragon, with the seven-year-old holding on by a short head from Victory Sky in a thrilling finish.
The result was even more remarkable given both Sing Dragon and Victory Sky have built their reputations on the all-weather track, with the pair having combined for 28 Hong Kong turf starts without a win before Sunday.
