Happy Spirit leads into the Million Challenge finale, Yiu��s trio is primed

14/02/2017

By David Morgan

Happy Spirit leads the pack into the final meeting of this season’s Happy Valley Million Challenge but four close challengers will be aiming to nick the winner’s HK$650,000 prize away from Tony Cruz’s admirable charge tomorrow night (Wednesday, 15 February).

The annual challenge, which this term began on 7 September, rewards horses racing in Group 3, Class 1, Class 2 and Class 3 races at Hong Kong’s city track, and, as usual, the finale offers a night of thrilling racing. Karis Teetan, Happy Spirit’s (113lb) pilot in race seven, the Class 1 Shan Kwong Handicap (1650m), knows that luck will doubtless play a role in deciding the outcome.

“You always need a bit of luck and he’s stepping up in class, but his last few runs have been good and now he goes into this race with a very light weight,” Teetan said of his 86-rated mount, a 19-point climber in the ratings this season.

“He looks to me like a horse that once he gets going he just keeps on running. I think with that weight, the one option for him to be able to win a race like this is to move to a forward position, move forward and try to steal the race.

“When Joao (Moreira) won on him he got going early on, so that showed that he’s the type of horse that takes time to get going but then he never stops, he keeps finding. There are a few horses that have been racing in stronger races than him, but that low weight gives him a chance. I think he’s got a big chance,”

Happy Spirit has 46 challenge points on the board thanks to two wins, two seconds and a third-place finish. That puts the much-improved five-year-old two points ahead of Victory Marvel (44) in second and four in front of Verbinsky (42) in third. But with that pair sitting out the climax, the only contenders positioned to launch an assault on the top spot are Wonderful Journey (40), Packing Dragon (38), Molly’s Jade Star (36) and Blocker Dee (33).

With 15 points for a win, a victory for Happy Spirit would take his final tally to 61 and so surpass any gains his rivals might make, sealing outright success.

Packing Dragon (114lb), for one, has a chance to scupper the horse that has topped the table in recent weeks. Second place is worth six points, third place four points and fourth place reaps three, so if Packing Dragon were to achieve a win over Happy Spirit in race seven, Ricky Yiu’s charge would leapfrog that rival no matter where the Cruz horse might finish. The 1650m distance, though, is not in the grey’s favour.

“It’s a little bit unfortunate that he’s not running over 1800 (metres), this distance is a little bit on the sharp side,” Yiu said of Ambitious Dragon’s half-brother. “He trialled well and I expect a good run but the other horse I have in the race, Packing Llaregyb (120lb), he’s more suited to the 1650 than Packing Dragon is.”
Jockey Chad Schofield echoed Yiu’s opinion regarding the distance for the five-year-old, whose four wins at The Valley have come at 1800m (three times) and 2200m, but pointed to the fact that the city venue is a positive for the gelding.

“I think he’s a horse who probably doesn’t have the turn-of-foot of some of the other horses in this race, especially over this trip, but he’s going to be bowling along up on the speed, so he’s going to be very strong at the line, it’s just whether he can kick enough when the sprint goes on,” Schofield said.

“He has quite a good chance. He’s a Happy Valley horse and if you can look past his latest run at Sha Tin he’s in with a great chance. He by far prefers Happy Valley, so back at The Valley he’s carrying a light weight, he’s a horse that makes his own luck by bowling up on the speed and I’m hoping he’ll be hard to catch with a light weight.”

A host of connotations could play out on the night and if the consistent Wonderful Journey (129lb) wins race five, the Class 3 Blue Pool Handicap (1200m), and takes his tally to 55 points, the gelding’s connections will be cheering on a Packing Dragon win as loudly as anyone - especially Yiu, who trains both horses.

“It’s an easier task for Wonderful Journey running in Class Three than it is in the bottom of Class Two, so he’ll be competitive,” the trainer said of the 81-rated three-time course and distance winner.

Yiu, in fact, has three shots at the HK$1 million purse. Molly’s Jade Star (114lb) has a squeak at the winner’s cheque if the gelding can seal a victory in race six to secure a total of 51 points, and then have other results fall in his favour. That contest is the night’s feature, the Class 1 Happy Valley Trophy Handicap (1200m), a race that has attracted a high-class field.

“The draw is the downside for Molly’s Jade Star, he’s out there in eleven,” Yiu said. “The jockey will need to create a miracle, it’s not easy. I hope they can overcome the draw and then he’d be a chance.

“When I realised I had three of my horses in the top ten, I started to target them here, so I’ve had the Million Challenge in mind for them for the past month and a half to two months. They’ll be spot on,” he added.

Also engaged in the Happy Valley Trophy are last season’s G1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize third Strathmore and the talented Lucky Year, joint top-weighted with 133lb. Neither horse is involved in the final skirmish for the Million Challenge.

But another that could have a hand is the Caspar Fownes-trained Blocker Dee. With 33 points heading into the finale, the five-year-old would need to secure the win and enjoy a few slices of luck in order to take the winner’s prize. 

The John Moore-trained pair of Sea Jade (30) - also in the Happy Valley Trophy - and Harbour Master (30) in race seven will be hoping to snatch some handy Happy Valley Million Challenge consolation prize money, with second place worth HK$250,000 and third worth HK$100,000.

The first race at The Valley is the Class 4 Village Handicap (1000m), due off at 7.15pm, while the last, at 10.50pm, is the Sing Woo Handicap (1800m).