By David Morgan
Fresh from a feature win on Horse Of Fortune in Sunday’s G3 Sa Sa Ladies’ Purse, Karis Teetan is eyeing the top prize at Happy Valley on Wednesday night (9 November), the Class 2 Queen’s Road Central Handicap (1200m). In high-weight Blocker Dee, the Mauritian ace believes he has the perfect partner.
The pair is sitting on the cusp of a hat-trick after a pair of course and distance wins that sees Blocker Dee declared for the evening’s finale on a career high mark of 93. That five-point rating hike puts the Caspar Fownes-trained five-year-old at the top of the handicap for the HK$1.75 million contest, with a 131lb burden.
“He’s got the ability to win even with the big weight,” Teetan said. “You can see the way he’s been racing, he won from behind and then last time he won from working hard on the speed; not many horses can do that at Happy Valley. Once they do that you know they’re the type of horse that can keep on going up in grade.”
A week and a half ago Blocker Dee broke from gate 11 and showed plenty of heart through a wide passage to score by a head from the rail-scraping Flying Tourbillon (123lb). That rival is set to re-oppose on 3lb better terms with Blocker Dee, while the fourth-placed runner that night, Back In Black, is 5lb better off this time for being beaten a length.
“If he had just had an easy run last time I definitely think he would have beaten them more easily,” Teetan said. “I understand with the weight difference this time the other horses, like Flying Tourbillon, have a little bit of an advantage but I think my horse will save lots of ground from gate three and give me an even better kick in the straight.
“Last time from a wide draw we had no option but to keep on chasing forward and this time he’s got the big weight but he has a good draw. I’ll just ride him very confidently and hopefully save a bit of ground and I’m sure he’s going to give me a nice kick.
“He’s a big fella, so it's surprising he can handle Happy Valley but he does it, he has good balance with that ability - he has some class and he’s on the up.”
Silvestre de Sousa piloted Flying Tourbillon to second last time but Chad Schofield will take the reins on the Ricky Yiu-trained five-year-old.
“He was having his second go in Class 2 last time and he was really good the last 50 metres - he attacked the line nicely,” Schofield said. “He’s a consistent, honest type, he’s drawn barrier one and it looks like he’s going to get the perfect run. If he gets luck, he’s going to be very hard to beat.”
The field of 12 also features Golden Harvest (124lb with Kei Chiong’s 7lb claim), last start winner Happy Meteor (121lb) and the in-form bottom-weight Verbinsky (119lb).
Likeable Navas
Schofield is looking forward to climbing back aboard the Richard Gibson-trained Navas in the night’s trophy race, the Class 3 Wayfoong Centenary Bowl Handicap (1200m).
Navas carried the hoop to a smart victory at the course and distance last month. That was the four-year-old’s second Hong Kong start and third of his career.
“I really like the horse; I have since the first day he came here,” Schofield said of the Australian import. “I thought he’d go close to winning on debut but he just got it a bit wrong. There was improvement out of that run and he scored at the second start so he’s on the way. He only had one start for one win in Australia, so he’s still lightly raced.
“I believe he’s better than a Class 3 horse, so this is a nice progression after his win the other night,” he continued. “He’s drawn reasonably well (gate seven) again in the middle, so he’s going to get a similar run behind the speed or maybe just a little further back. When I ask him, we know he’s going to hit the line, so he should be thereabouts.”
Better luck, Dinozzo
Irish import Dinozzo (129lb) endured a luckless Hong Kong debut at Happy Valley on 19 October under Zac Purton, and the former champion jockey is keen to put that run to bed in race six, the Class 3 Sutherland Handicap (1800m).
The John Size-trained three-year-old was barged and buffeted in tight running through the closing stages of that 1650m contest but had enough about him to finish third of 10 behind Wah May Baby, with the re-opposing Inventor (133lb) second.
“I thought it was a good effort,” Purton said. “There wasn’t a lot of speed in that race and it turned into a sprint home. He came through like he was going to be right in it before he got that buffeting, which just put him off his game.
“He’s a nice horse - it was a good first effort, so I think he should run well again. The 1800m looks to be in his favour, I think he’ll love every bit of the ground.”
The hot contest also features last start winner Packing Dragon (126lb with Kei Chiong’s 7lb claim) and the smart General Sherman (132lb), still looking for a first Hong Kong win at start 13 but drawn nicely in gate two.
Happy Valley’s eight-race card kicks off at 7.15pm with the Class 5 Battery Path Handicap (1000m).
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Photo 1:
Blocker Dee (No. 3) lands back-to-back victories at the course and distance last start.
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Photo 2:
Navas breaks his local maiden in his second start in Hong Kong.
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