Training Performance of the Day - Cody Mo Wai-kit
Three trainers had tried before him, and all had come up empty. Cody Mo Wai-kit did not give much away when asked what it meant to finally win with Draco, but the grin on his face said it all.
The six-year-old was having his 23rd start off a career-low rating of 26, half the mark he debuted at in April 2024, and trying to improve on a record that included six third-place finishes from 22 starts.
Francis Lui Kin-wai had the first go, then Ricky Yiu Poon-fai, while Brett Crawford inherited him during his first season and even secured Zac Purton for Draco’s first two starts under his care, but still could not find the breakthrough.
Mo took over for Draco’s final two starts last season and there were signs he was getting closer, although that was hardly new for a horse who had threatened more than once. This time there was no near miss. Draco put the race away decisively, and Mo believes there is still more there.
Ride of the Day - Jimmy Orman
James Orman gets Ride of the Day for putting Kempes into the race exactly where David Hall wanted him.
From barrier three, Orman had the six-year-old fourth early, improved to third and then drove through along the inside to take the lead approaching the 100m. It was a far more positive position than the Jockey Club’s speed map had predicted – Kempes was mapped last – and officials questioned both Orman and Hall after the race.
“Well, it was a bit laughable, actually, as far as the website speed map having him last. There’s no way in the world he’s ever going to be last, especially in Class 4,” Hall told The Standard.
“From a good gate on that sort of deck today, at worst I thought he’d be midfield. I was hoping he might have been able to take the box seat.”
Orman made sure Kempes was close enough to use that opportunity, and Hall was hardly surprised the horse proved up to it.
“But I think his ability’s always been better than Class 4. There’s no doubt about that,” Hall said. “So it’s just good to get another win on board.”
Horse to Follow - Absolute Awakened
David Hayes hopes the best is still ahead for Absolute Awakened after finally getting on top of the six-year-old’s persistent back problems.
The gelding delivered his first win for Hayes at just his second start for the stable, and the trainer believes improved soundness can help him add to it.
“Really happy,” Hayes said. “The horse has had chronic back problems and he needed a lot of time to recover, and now the back is in really good shape and hopefully he can win a couple more races for the owners.”
Absolute Awakened had previously been trained by Frankie Lor Fu-chuen, who saddled him to one win and a third from 12 starts, most of them at Happy Valley.
Hayes, though, had seen enough in Absolute Awakened’s first-up run at Sha Tin last season to send him back to the bigger track, and the simple approach paid off.
“I saw his best run last season was the first run of the season at Sha Tin, so we thought we should copy and paste.”
