Andrea Atzeni continued his excellent form with a double at Sha Tin on Sunday, headed by Champion Young who won the Grade Two CW Chu Alumni Handicap (1,200m).
The John Size-trained jockey entered the race on the back of 17 consecutive defeats, but had put the writing on the wall with three unlucky runs at Sha Tin and Happy Valley.
There were no tales of bad luck on this occasion, however, with the Zoustar runner landing on the box seat from the first hurdle and after jumping on his heels into the straight, he showed a determined attitude to fend off Patch Of Stars.
It was a win that was a long time coming and Size hopes he can build on that for the rest of the campaign.
“I think he’s been unlucky in his last three races and the trip – today everything went well. He put himself up to win the race and he really fought today too and showed a bit of character; he was there to win but he didn’t, so I’m really pleased,” Size said.
“I think he could win again – that was a big win. There were some really good horses in that race – maybe they didn’t do what they wanted to do but they were still in it and he beat them.”
It was the second stage win for Atzeni, who guided Shotgun to easy success in the second leg of the newly qualified Asian Grade Four (1,400m) for trainer David Hall.
The son of Charm Spirit ran riot in a trial at Conghua earlier this month by almost eight lengths and he translated that onto the racetrack, making all the salutations by one and three quarter lengths.
Lui lives in peace
Francis Lui Kin-wai put himself in the open trainers’ premiership discussion with two wins on the day, led by The Golden Knight going back in the Grade Three Morningside By Lee Woo Sing Alumni Handicap (1,600m).
When he was awarded his maiden achievement in the boardroom earlier that month, there was no doubt about him doubling his tally after sticking his neck out to deny Endued in a ding-dong finish to the final.
Always traveling well in midfield, the gap opened up like a Red Sea in the straight for Harry Bentley, who got into the lead 180 meters out and saved Endued with a short header.
“He proved last time he wasn’t a random person, he won the race. Harry said the horse really fought to get to the front and when he got there, he saved himself,” Lui said.
Lui started his day with a win for King Dance, who took the Grade Four CUHK Graduates’ Cup (1,400m) on his first start of the campaign at the venue.
An unthinkable $34.6 chance after running five times this season, including two wins last time out, he enjoyed the step up to 1,400m and finished strongly past Francis Meynell for 13 wins.
“I thought I’d just try to get him up to 1,400m today and I’m glad it worked. Now that we know he’s good on both surfaces, it opens up options,” said Lui.
The trainer now sits fourth in the trainers’ premiership with over 40 wins, five behind leader Mark Newnham.
Satono Reve on the Champions election
Satono Reve produced a superb display to win the Group One Takamatsunomiya Kinen (1,200m) at Chukyo Racecourse on Sunday for the second year running, ahead of a possible bow in the Group One Chairman’s Race (1,200m) next month.
The Noriyuki Hori-trained sprinter established a midfield position under Christophe Lemaire, before speeding down to overtake his rivals in a race-record time of 1:06.30.
He broke the record by 0.4 seconds, beating Red Mon Reve into second place, with Win Carnelian finishing third.
Satono Reve ran in the Group One Hong Kong Sprint (1,200m) in December, where she was ninth behind world champion Ka Ying Rising. He also ran in that race the year before, where he was a close third.
Elsewhere, Calandagan found redemption in the Group One Dubai Sheema Classic (2,400m) at Meydan, beating West Wind Blows by three quarters of a length.
Beaten in the race 12 months ago by Danon Decile, the Francis-Henri Graffard-trained star came off the back of four straight wins, including success in the Group One Japan Cup (2,400m).
He made no mistake on this occasion, chasing West Wind Blows long pacer to an extent that does no justice to his winning streak.
The Gleneagles jockey is likely to continue his travels this year, but a trip to Hong Kong for a clash with Romantic Warrior in the Group One QE II Cup (2,000m) looks doubtful.
Meydan’s card feature, the Group One Dubai World Cup (2,000m), was upset by international star Forever Young when he suffered a second defeat in the race, this time at the hands of Magnitude.
The American-trained four-year-old denied Forever Young a chance to overtake Romantic Warrior as the race’s top-earning horse.
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