Twin Delight provides a shock in the Kwangtung Handicap Cup

11/09/2016

By Pat Cummings

Twin Delight (116lb) landed a pari-mutuel shocker when winning the Class 1 Kwangtung Handicap Cup at Sha Tin Racecourse this afternoon (11 September). Dispatched at odds of 267-1, the Caspar Fownes trainee jumped first under Derek Leung from the widest barrier in the 12-horse field, settled two wide on the lead, and held-off the 1.9 favourite Joyful Trinity (124lb) by a short head to complete the upset.

“Do you believe that?” an incredulous Leung pondered aloud when returning to the winner’s enclosure.

“When we studied the field, I didn’t think there was too much pace as the race had plenty of stayers, so the trainer told me to settle where he was happy. When he jumped very smart, I just let him go a bit farther on the lead and he did it.”

The New Zealand-bred son of Perfectly Ready was second in a Class 1 handicap twice at Happy Valley last season, but tasted top class success in Hong Kong for the first time today. Twin Delight’s win represented his first placing from 15 tries at Sha Tin, having secured four wins and four seconds from 13 starts at Happy Valley Racecourse.

“It’s incredible,” Fownes said. “He’s a horse who always runs around fit, but he’s never really done much at Sha Tin. It’s a bit of a surprise. We love it. He’s done his job.”

Horse Of Fortune (126lb) joined Twin Delight on the early lead with I’m In Charge (117lb) and Romantic Touch (127lb) in close attendance. Joyful Trinity was last through the first 200 metres before settling a ground-saving tenth with 700 metres to travel. Joao Moreira guided the public’s pick into the clear upon straightening, launching a flashy late dash that fell just short. Joyful Trinity’s final 400 and 800-metre splits were the quickest in the race, at 22.02s and 45.02s, respectively.

I’m In Charge, also trained by Fownes, was a neck back in third with Romantic Touch a close fourth. The final time for the 1400m was 1m 21.16s.

The 267-1 return was the highest win price recorded in Hong Kong since Hello Kimberley scored at 244-1 on 24 May 2015. The all-time Hong Kong record is a 317-1 success from Winning Associates on 13 October 2001.

Earlier in the card, Australian jockey Sam Clipperton earned his first win in Hong Kong following success in the meeting-opening Chaozhou Handicap aboard Peter Ho trainee Ace King.

“It was a great thrill to get the first,” said Clipperton, “and he is a promising type who is still very green and I think he might be able to go through the grades.”

The 22 year-old two-time champion apprentice in Sydney, Clipperton added another win when guiding Rewarding Flyer to his first Hong Kong victory from 13 starts. “I thought he was impressive to stay on. We changed tactics with him today to ride him closer. He got a bit tired late but got the job done,” added Clipperton.

Matthew Chadwick got on the board in the new term with a win in the Class 3 Chinese Recreation Club Challenge Cup (Handicap), rousing Lucky Day (114lb) to a short-head success over Lotus Breeze (112lb).

“We drew a nice gate [three] and thought off of his trial he had a good chance today. He jumped well and we had a nice position and he tried his heart out at the end,” said Chadwick, who has partnered the New Zealand-bred gelding by Coats Choice to three of his four lifetime wins. “The offseason did him well. He had a lot of racing last season and with a bit of a break, everything went to plan today.”

Racing resumes in Hong Kong on Sunday, 18 September at Sha Tin.