Few horses will be heading into the Classic Mile in as good a form as the hugely talented California Spangle after the four-year-old again blitzed his rivals in the Class Two Chak On Handicap (1,200m) at Sha Tin on Sunday.
The Tony Cruz-trained rising star is expected to head towards the first leg of the Classic Series on January 30 after making the most of a good draw in stall three to beat home consistent outsider Trillion Win by an easy length and a half.
There were plenty of punters willing to pile their cash onto California Spangle before the race, with the speedster sent off at odds of 1.3, and those who lumped on at short prices never had a moment’s worry as the gelding was quickly away and fought off early pace challenger Metro Warrior before kicking clear in the straight to record a dominant victory.
Now a winner of five of his six races, California Spangle impressed his regular rider Zac Purton, who was back on board after Matthew Chadwick took the reins for the galloper’s previous win.
“I think he’s really exciting and I really like him. He’s a special horse,” Purton said.
Despite being full of praise for his mount after this win, Purton did admit to harbouring a few doubts over California Spangle’s chances in the Classic Mile, which is now just two weeks away.
“He’s got the action and I think he’s got the pedigree to be able to run a mile, but whether he can jump straight from 1,200m to 1,600m, that’s the question mark,” Purton said.
“The other horses have already had their runs at 1,400m and 1,600m. First time out at 1,600m, he might be a little bit vulnerable.”
California Spangle’s stamina will undoubtedly be put to the test in the Classic Mile and the race is shaping up to be a thriller, with fellow Sha Tin scorer Romantic Warrior, from the Danny Shum Chap-shing yard, and his stablemate Packing Victory likely to be among those posing stiff competition in the four-year-old series.
There were three sprint races over 1,200m at Sha Tin on Sunday and mixed fortunes for Purton.
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Speedy Mouse looked unlucky when failing to get a run in the straight in the Class Three Cheung Sha Wan Handicap but, an hour earlier, the rider made yet another appearance in the winner’s enclosure aboard the potentially smart Golden Empire in the Class Four Pak Tin Handicap.
The four-year-old French-bred gelding won by a cosy neck in only his second career start and trainer Francis Lui Kin-wai is hopeful Golden Empire will continue to progress up the ratings.
“He’s a nice horse, he did a good job today. Zac thinks he will get better as he gets older and he might be at 1,400m next season,” Lui said.
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