Cody Mo Wai-kit completed an impressive treble when he sent just five runners to Happy Valley on Wednesday night thanks to wins by Jumbo Treasure, Meowth and Flying Fortune.
Mo has enjoyed a successful season, with 45 wins in his third term in training here and is on track to top 40 in 2024-25.
Jumbo Treasure didn’t fly at his usual pace, but that didn’t stop him from scoring three goals for Mo – as well as two goals for jockey Derek Leung Ka-chun – in the Grade Three Leighton Road Handicap (1,200m).
Leung picked out and rounded Endurance Express who was running outside leader Honest Witness, and Jumbo Express was able to run down the leader by half a length and notch his fourth career victory.
“I’m very happy with the three wins,” Mo said.
“We warmed him up and had a good block and he got a good run. The improvement worked.”
The super consistent Meowth claimed his second win of the season in the 50th Anniversary Racing World Cup (1,200m), giving Luke Ferraris the first leg of the double.
Ferraris showed just how talented he is to get runners out of the gate when Meowth rocketed from the fourth barrier, with the South African letting the pace from the outside pass him and settling behind the first pace off the rail.
Wider around the turn, he never looked in danger of losing and held on to beat Gameplayer Elite by a length and a half.
“It was a very good win, he showed that he is coming back in good form and he pulled the right gate with the right race at a good pace and got into a good place,” Ferraris said.
“He did it with a lot of confidence, well done to Cody and his team, he got him out in a good order today.”
Ferraris went on to score twice in the final race of the night with David Eustace in the Grade Three King’s Road Handicap (1,650m), running late to win by a neck from Romantic Gladiator.
Flying Fortune and Vincent Ho Chak-yiu Flying Fortune started the first leg of Mo’s three-race run in the second leg of the Grade Four Morrison Hill Road Handicap (1,650m).
Box sat from the second barrier, he was pushed down the back as the pace picked up, with Ho spinning on his heels to take the 200m position to win by three-quarters of a length over Mighty Steed.
Elsewhere, Danica’s Choice gave Manfred Man Ka-leung a two-goal second leg after being bored by the brown from $22 to $6.2 in the first leg of the Connaught Road Central Handicap (1,200m).
The victory capped a summer for jockey Hugh Bowman, who had 63 riders without a winner, as Swiss colt Ace won barrier 10 to edge Cloud Nine by three-quarters of a length in his Happy Valley debut.
“I told the owner I’m confident he has a chance because last time, he was close. This time, I was worried about the draw, but he still won,” Man said.
Blossomy won twice from his last three starts for Man in the first part of the Grade Four Morrison Hill Road Handicap (1,650m) with Leung.
Charming Legend set a slow pace before Joao Moreira anchored in the 800m and tried to steal the race from the front, but Blossomy stuck behind him and eventually took the lead by a length in his Happy Valley debut.
“He surprised me because his last win was on another track (Sha Tin all weather), we tried here and we were surprised,” Man said.
Sky Cap recorded his third win of the season with Moreira in the Grade Three Des Voeux Road Central Handicap (1,000m).
The victory brought Caspar Fownes’ 64th win, extending his trainers’ lead to five over second-placed Danny Shum Chap-shing.
“It’s becoming more and more important at this stage. I’m very happy for the owners, they’re one of my biggest supporters, the whole family. They’re the best people to train for – they let me do my job and never bother me. I’m very happy to get a win for them and on top of that, to get a first win bonus, which is great,” Fownes said.
“The horse has done a good job for us. We got the horse back to 1,000 meters and I just told Joao to give him a chance to get behind the pace, one from behind. That was the winning move. He just held on so I’m very happy.”
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