Aaron Kwok’s horse Dancing Fighter sets new track record at Happy Valley

Hong Kong heartthrob Aaron Kwok Fu-shing brought some glamour to Happy Valley on Wednesday night as the celebrity graced the winner’s circle after his horse Dancing Fighter scorched the turf to set a new 1,000m track record.

Kwok is one of the Jockey Club’s highest-profile owners, with the actor/singing sensation having been in the spotlight since the 1980s, and his presence on course always adds a bit of pizzazz.

The Canto-pop king and his wife Moka Fang certainly had something to celebrate when Dancing Fighter ran his rivals off their legs in the Class Three Java Handicap (1,000m).

The Caspar Fownes-trained five-year-old led from barrier to box with Joao Moreira in the saddle, stopping the clock in a lightning 56.09 seconds, slicing .02 off Stronger’s mark from February last year.

The win was the fourth of Dancing Fighter’s career but his first since December 2019 after a series of setbacks and the trainer was delighted to get the result for his friend.

“It’s been a long time, we’ve worked very hard to bring this horse back to the races, he’s had a few problems. I’m very happy for Aaron, he’s been very patient and I’m very happy to get the win with the horse,” Fownes said.

“He’s a such a lovely guy. He’s been a good mate for well over 20 years and he loves his racing. This horse did really well early days but when you have injuries it’s hard to bring them back and get them to perform.”

After over-racing last time out, the drop back in trip seemed to do the trick and Fownes hopes Dancing Fighter can use it as a springboard to more success.

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“Last start he went a little too hard and he got a bit tired the last part so I just kept him fresh for this race – it looked a good race for him – and he’s done it nicely,” he said.

“He’s had some proximal ligament issues and it’s taken him a while to get over that – he was a bit naughty in the gates before but we’ve got him comfortable now. If you can get him out of the gates and use his gate speed, which he has, then he’s always going to give you a good run.

“It looks like he’s back to where we thought he would be so we’ll look at the programme and probably go to a 1,200m around here next start.”

Dancing Fighter wasn’t the only horse to set a new track record on the night on the lightning quick surface with the 1,650m mark lowered not once, but twice by two of Me Tsui Yu-sak’s runners.

First it was Telecom Fighters in the third race, running 1:38.55 to shave .03 off the time recorded by Green Luck and Solar Wai Wai.

But the eye-popping performance came from Tsar in the Class Two Fort Handicap, the talented four-year-old running an astonishing 1:37.97 to hack a hard-to-believe .58 of a second off the mark set only two and a half hours earlier. It’s not often you see a drop that significant at a course and distance where there are about 100 races a season.

“The track is running very fast and he’s got natural gate speed and got himself into a lovely position and had a light weight,” jockey Matthew Chadwick said.

“He’s still learning. He probably is a bit better with cover so he can settle early in the race but he did it well enough and I hope there’s more to come.”

Tsui wasn’t the only trainer to collect a double with Manfred Man Ka-leung following suit as Great Harvest (Alexis Badel) and Manna From Heaven saluted, the latter completing a brace for Chadwick.

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