It looked only a matter of time before the consistency of Brett Crawford’s runners turned into a winner, and All Are Mine delivered the breakthrough.
Crawford came into the meeting 0-for-27 for the season, but 12 of those runners had finished within three lengths of the winner and eight had made the first four.
Retirement had been on the cards for the seven-year-old, but Crawford convinced connections there was still a win in him, and the German-bred gelding rewarded that faith at his final start of last season. He has carried that form into the new campaign, recording a third career victory at start 33.
“The way he’s been running in his last four starts, you have to say it looks like we’ve found a way to race him,” Crawford said. “If he goes to Class 4 on the bottom weight, there’s always a chance. When you’re running 1,600 meters, 1,800 meters, there’s always a chance he can be competitive.”
There was nothing particularly flashy about Jimmy Orman’s winning ride on Solid Car, but the execution was spot-on, and that mattered for a short-priced favorite chasing his first career victory at his 16th Hong Kong start.
The excuses were beginning to wear thin, but Thursday’s setup suggested this might finally be Solid Car’s day. Orman settled him five back, one out, then brought him into contention before Solid Car hit the front at the 150-meter mark and drew clear to win by a length and a half.
Trainer David Hall had also reapplied the shadow roll for a second time, returning to gear Solid Car wore in Peter Moody’s Australian stable despite having little faith in its effectiveness.
“I actually don't believe in them. I don't use them that much and I don't see too much effect from them,” Hall said. “But he was born and raised in it before he came here, so I thought I'd go back to it and maybe he'd be more comfortable in it.”
Ka Ying Lightning was among David Hall’s three early winners on Thursday, maintaining his unbeaten record when he put well-fancied Jedi Spurs away by two lengths in the Class 4 1,000-meter sprint.
Much sharper from the gates than on debut, the four-year-old was able to settle close to the speed from barrier four. Andrea Atzeni kept Jedi Spurs firmly in his sights, sitting just off his rival before Ka Ying Lightning produced the better turn of foot and drew clear to make it two wins from two starts.
Hall was just as encouraged by the improvement in the up-and-comer’s race-day manners as he was by the performance itself.
“Look, he's an exciting horse. Two starts and two wins, and he's really coming on in leaps and bounds with his behavior,” Hall said. “He's jumping out of the gates better and he's becoming a professional racehorse. He's got a great action, he likes the firm ground and he's going to be a good, fun horse for Hong Kong.”
