The money came for Dragon’s Luck in a big way and Lyle Hewitson left absolutely nothing to chance at Sha Tin on Saturday, ensuring the easiest of watches for punters who piled into the Douglas Whyte-trained debutant.
Considered a $14 chance half an hour out from the race, Dragon’s Luck was hammered from $10 into $4.35 in the final few minutes of betting.
The four-year-old performed accordingly, taking out the Class Four Panasonic Ziaino Air Treatment Handicap (1,200m) by two lengths from fellow first starter Golden Bull.
“He’s really done everything right at home. He’s had the three trials and he’s progressively improved every time,” Whyte said.
“He’s a thorough professional. Today we had a bit of an ordinary gate but he seemed to overcome that. Good horses can do that.
“I’m very happy for the owners, they’ve had a lot of faith in me and he looks like a nice horse.”
From gate 12, Hewitson worked Dragon’s Luck across to the lead down the back straight and controlled proceedings to produce a victory that left Whyte wondering what might lay ahead.
“He’s very immature, I’ve taken my time with him,” the trainer said. “He’s very aware of everything around him, but the good thing he digests it and he’s able to accept it. I like horses with a bit of fiery attitude in them, that’s what makes a champion.”
It was the second winner in consecutive meetings for the Whyte-Hewitson combination and the South African pair’s sixth success of the season.
After a few quiet weeks, Hewitson has bounced back into form and further entrenched himself in the top half of the jockeys’ premiership with his 10th victory of the campaign.
Whyte, who moved to seven winners for the term, also caught the eye with a couple of horses who didn’t win, with another debutant Beau Gosse finishing fourth at $154 and Boom Alliance finishing third at $32.
Poon hits double century
It was a hungry Matthew Poon Ming-fai who celebrated his 200th Hong Kong winner on Saturday, with the 29-year-old enjoying a milestone that he hopes is just one of many.
Poon hit the mark thanks to the victory of the Danny Shum Chap-shing-trained Ka Ying Spirit in the Class Three Panasonic Lighting Handicap (1,000m)
“To be honest, anybody getting 200 winners in Hong Kong would be very happy because it’s very competitive and you are under lots of pressure,” Poon said.
“I feel grateful that I can get 200 wins and hopefully I can get 300, 400 winners. I can’t be happier but hopefully I can get 300 winners in the future.”
Poon’s 200 comes in his seventh Hong Kong season and just over four years since he completed his apprenticeship with his 70th winner in October 2018.
Welcome winners
While it was the youngsters who impressed most in the early races, a pair of seasoned gallopers delivered welcome victories to a couple of trainers in need of some success.
Righteous Doctrine’s victory under Silvestre de Sousa in the Class Four Panasonic Japan Made System Kitchen Handicap (1,650m) on the all-weather track ended a run of 46 outs for Michael Chang Chun-wai.
After receiving strikes in the past two seasons for failing to meet the Jockey Club’s trainers’ benchmark, Chang now has three winners for the campaign as he bids to avoid a third black mark against his name and the possibility of losing his licence.
Righteous Doctrine’s trip to the winner’s circle came 909 days after his last win but it didn’t catch punters off guard, with the seven-year-old going around as a $2.2 chance in his 52nd Hong Kong start – Chang’s shortest-priced runner since February last year.
Two races earlier Superb Daddy snuffed out a 35-run dry spell for Me Tsui Yu-sak, who was ringing up is fourth victory of the campaign after receiving his first strike last season.
Superb Daddy also went around favourite despite the fact his most recent victory came only two weeks after Righteous Doctrine’s May 2020 success, winning the Class Five Panasonic Futon Dryer Handicap (2,000m) at $3.65 under Zac Purton.
The beer garden is back
Jockey Club chief executive Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges couldn’t hide his excitement when sharing the news that Happy Valley’s beer garden will be back with a bang from November 23.
With a further relaxation of Covid-19 measures looming, a “full reopening” will see a return of the beer tents and music that the Valley concourse is famous for, while it is also expected that fans will no longer have to pre-book tickets.
Crowd numbers will also continue to increase in the lead up to next month’s International Jockeys’ Championship at the city circuit and the Longines Hong Kong International Races at Sha Tin, with officials hopeful as many as 35,000 fans will be on track for the city’s showpiece race day.
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