David Eustace may have found another ratings climber in Mighty Profit, who broke through at his second start in a Class 4 1,200-meter contest at Sha Tin on Sunday.
The four-year-old has obvious ability, but Eustace believes there is still plenty of development to come and admits the gelding is more like the fairer sex to train.
"He's a little bit like training a filly, honestly. I find myself calling him a she quite a lot. Just that he can get a bit hot and doesn't carry loads of weight. So that's something that he'll need to improve on as he progresses, hopefully, up the ratings," Eustace said.
"But one step at a time, and we'll see what the handicapper does."
Eustace is in no hurry to send Mighty Profit back to the races, preferring to give him time to absorb the experience.
"I think he's definitely a sort of four-to-five-weeker. Give him a chance to digest today."
Derek Leung Ka-chun's strong start to the season is beginning to open doors at other stables after he partnered Mark Newnham-trained Armour War Eagle to victory at Sha Tin on Sunday, giving the jockey his first winner for the trainer.
Leung entered the meeting with nine wins from the opening nine meetings, including five for Cody Mo Wai-kit and another two for Manfred Man Ka-leung, but his early-season form has not gone unnoticed elsewhere.
"I've known Derek a long time, but that's the first winner he's had for me. He hasn't had many tries, but he's been riding in really good form this season. So we've given him a couple of opportunities coming up, and he got the job done today," Newnham said.
Drawn 11 in the Class 4 1,200-meter contest on the all-weather track, Leung settled the seven-year-old second-last before swinging widest into the straight, where Armour War Eagle finished strongly to prevail by a head.
"He just hasn't had many wins, but his form's been solid on the dirt. He got a nice ride from Derek from a difficult gate," Newnham said.
Pierre Ng Pang-chi decided it was time to try something different with Storm Mirror, and the move paid off as the four-year-old led from pillar to post to break through at his fifth start.
Storm Mirror had shown promise in three starts last season, finishing a luckless seventh on debut down the Sha Tin straight before posting consecutive placings. His return this campaign was easy to forgive after he began slowly from barrier 13, raced keenly throughout and never got involved, finishing 11th.
This time, Ng wanted Storm Mirror rolling forward rather than fighting his rider.
"Yes. Just let him roll. If there's obviously a leader, we can just sit off. I think the key is just if he jumps well. He didn't quite, but just let him roll," Ng said.
Ng also removed Storm Mirror's blinkers for the victory, unconvinced the gear had any effect.
"Well, I just found that it didn't make a difference at all, whether the blinkers were on or off."
