Hall chases elusive Valley victory with Beluga after two near misses

David Hall’s highest-rated galloper spearheads his seven-strong team at Happy Valley on Wednesday night.

Beluga has won five races and been placed in a further eight of his 19 starts and now competes off a rating of 91, seven points clear of Hall’s next best Flying Quest.

A trip to Happy Valley is a rarity for the five-year-old, with his two runs at the city circuit coming this season and resulting in placings, and Hall is confident the course will suit his stable star again in the Class Two Bellflower Handicap (1,800m).

“He’s performed well there and there’s no reason not to take him,” Hall said.

“The distance is right for him and he’s performed well there without luck. He hasn’t won there but both his performances were pretty solid, so we’ll go back and have another try. Zac Purton was available so that will help.”

Beluga’s wins have come over 1,200m, 1,400m and 1,600m but Hall believes the evidence of Beluga’s three efforts over 1,800m suggests that the trip is well within his compass.

“With his pedigree, he’s out of a Written Tycoon mare and the Tavistock side always suggests that you want to run further,” Hall said.

“We’ve seen him hit the line strongly enough at 1,800m before so I think he’s very comfortable at that distance.”

Among Hall’s other runners at the midweek meeting, Classic Posh showed signs of a return to form when finishing second to Star Brite at Sha Tin last start.

A three-time winner over 1,200m at Happy Valley, he should be well suited to this test but Hall will be hoping for some rain in the build-up to the Class Three Calla Lily Handicap (1,200m).

“He’s a very honest horse when he’s in form,” Hall said. “At this time of year when there is a little juice in the ground, it is a big plus for him.

“If he can get a wet track on Wednesday night, then I think his rating is back to where he can be competitive again if the conditions are favourable for him.”

Oversubscribed was Hall’s longest-priced winner since Mcmunigal’s victory at $147 on New Year’s Day 2020 when saluting at odds of $68 last start and clearly not much was expected ahead of that run over 1,200m given he had finished in the first three in just one of his five previous attempts at the trip.

Hall has opted not to change a winning formula by running Oversubscribed in section one of the Class Four Dandelion Handicap (1,200m) but he will again be shocked if the six-year-old finds his way into the winner’s enclosure.

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“I would have thought that he’d struggle off this mark,” Hall said. “The 1,200m win was a bit of a surprise but the way the race panned out, whether that can happen again is probably highly unlikely.

“But we know the horse well, we know how he has to be ridden. If he can be held up and there is a genuine pace and they’re walking [late] and he’s spent no petrol then he’ll give you something, but he’s certainly up to his mark.”

Management Folks, Sun Of Makfi, Kyrus Unicorn and This Is Charisma complete Hall’s Happy Valley team.

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