1/7/2022
Duke Wai strikes for O¡¦Sullivan, Chau
By Leo Schlink
Marking his imminent departure from Hong Kong with a timely reminder of enduring skill, Paul O¡¦Sullivan struck with Duke Wai and Jerry Chau to land the Class 1 25th Anniversary Hong Kong Reunification Cup Handicap (1200m) at rain-drenched Sha Tin on Friday (1 July).
O¡¦Sullivan, 62, will leave Hong Kong at the end of the season, having forged an excellent reputation as a Derby-winning trainer since moving to the city from Hong Kong in 2004, subsequently accumulating 515 winners including a string at the highest level.
Surprised by Duke Wai¡¦s narrow triumph on yielding to soft ground over Winning Dreamer and Blaze Warrior, O¡¦Sullivan boosted his season¡¦s haul to 22 wins and his satisfaction at clinching the HK$3.15 million feature was palpable.
¡§Well, he¡¦s always been very honest and I think the track conditions were in his favour today,¡¨ O¡¦Sullivan said of the Per Incanto gelding. ¡§I¡¦ve had him since he was three and he¡¦s been a wonderful old horse for us.
¡§I think he has got an unflappable temperament and he¡¦s a kind horse in the box. When he¡¦s in a race, he gives 100 percent. He has been a marvellous horse - who knows, he might come back to New Zealand and live in a paddock on the farm?
¡§It¡¦s wonderful to win for the owners. It¡¦s fabulous, it¡¦s terrific ¡V particularly with this old horse.¡¨
Duke Wai improved his record to eight wins from 34 starts for prizemoney of HK$14.5 million.
Duke Wai¡¦s victory also carried significance for Chau, who took his Hong Kong career wins to 95 and, as a result, will have his three-pound claim trimmed to two pounds for the Happy Valley meeting on Wednesday (6 July).
¡§This is the next step and hopefully I can keep it up,¡¨ Chau, 22, said.
¡§I¡¦m thankful for the owners¡¦ support and today Duke Wai started well and, on the turn, he was travelling well, so I decided to move him out and get better ground. He gave me a very good turn of foot. When he took the lead, he slowed down a bit, so I had to keep him up to the line.
¡§This is the next step and hopefully I can keep it up.¡¨
Matthew Chadwick tightened his grip on the Tony Cruz Award for the most successful home-grown jockey with a treble, registering a half century for the season with M M Johnny¡¦s victory in the Class 5 Racing Goes On Handicap (1200m) for Manfred Man.
Reaching 50 winners in a season for the second time in 14 campaigns, Chadwick said: ¡§I wasn¡¦t really focusing on that, but I guess it¡¦s good ¡V it¡¦s another winner. The more winners you ride, the better. It¡¦s a good number. I just hope to ride more.¡¨
Chadwick¡¦s ambitions quickly materialised aboard Sea Monarch in the Class 5 Serving The Community (1400m) for Michael Chang before he partnered Leading Fortune to victory for John Size in the Class 3 Sportsmanship Handicap (1600m) to edge closer to his career-high tally of 57 winners in 2012/13.
He extended his lead over Vincent Ho in the Tony Cruz Award to five wins ¡V 52-47 ¡V with four meetings left, as John Size breathed life into the trainers¡¦ championship with a treble to cut Frankie Lor¡¦s buffer to five wins ¡V 88-83.
Ho attributed Frankie Lor-trained Peak To Peak¡¦s victory in the Class 4 Guangdong-Hong Kong Cup Handicap (1400m) to the conditions, race pattern and weight relief.
¡§It¡¦s really hard to chase from behind today and of course with the light weight (118lb), it¡¦s more of an advantage on this surface. It was a perfect effort and I think the horse even improved on this surface as well,¡¨ Ho said.
¡§He usually can¡¦t sustain a long run but maybe he felt more comfortable in the conditions.¡¨
Size closed the day in ominous fashion with Power Koepp¡¦s charging victory in the Class 3 Better Future Handicap (1200m) under Alexis Badel to give the Frenchman a double for the 11-time champion, while Zac Purton clings to a 129-128 margin over Joao Moreira in the jockeys¡¦ championship.
Chris So¡¦s faith in Super Sunny Sing was justified when the Nicconi gelding swept to an impressive win in the first section of Class 4 World-Class Leadership Handicap (1200m) under Joao Moreira.
¡§We weren¡¦t sure about the conditions today, but we think he is a good horse,¡¨ So said. ¡§We used a hood on him today to keep him quiet and he had a great ride from Joao and you saw the result.¡¨
Size-trained Bourbonaire reprised his best overseas wet-track form with a devastating six-length win in the Class 2 Uncompromising Integrity Handicap (1800m) for Alexis Badel.
¡§Obviously he enjoyed the track, but he keeps on improving,¡¨ Badel said. ¡§Today, the key was being in front but it was a demolition job.¡¨
Formerly trained by Stephen Marsh in New Zealand, Bourbonaire won on heavy ground at Matamata and was placed at Group 1 level on yielding ground in 2020 before export to Hong Kong.
Me Tsui and Dylan Mo successfully combined with Sparkling Dolphin to land the Class 4 Continuous Development Handicap (1000m), providing the Tsui with his 19th winner of the season and Mo¡¦s 11th.
Tsui sealed a precious double when Royal Agility steamed to clear-cut success in the second section of the Class 4 Riding High Together Handicap (1200m) under Lyle Hewitson.
Hong Kong racing continues on Wednesday night (6 July) at Happy Valley.
Photo 1
Revelling in the ground, the Duke rules.