Whyte’s magical weekend continues, while Purton lands treble before rare suspension

Douglas Whyte capped off the best weekend of his training career in fine style at Sha Tin on Sunday, taking out the Class Two TVB Pok Oi Charity Show Handicap (1,000m) with returning speedster Carroll Street.

After snaring the H.H. The Amir Trophy with Russian Emperor in Qatar on Saturday night – his first overseas runner – Whyte produced another sublime training effort to coax victory out of Carroll Street in the five-year-old’s first run since June last year.

Carroll Street showed plenty of promise as a youngster, winning four of his 12 starts before struggling with leg issues, but Sunday’s win was his first in Class Two and jockey Karis Teetan summed up Whyte’s weekend perfectly.

“It’s nice to have a win for Douglas. He’s on cloud nine now, so it’s wonderful,” the Mauritian said.

After winning three trials ahead of his return, Carroll Street showed no signs of his 259-day absence, jumping on terms from the outside gate and hugging the paint throughout.

After travelling in midfield, Carroll Street lengthened nicely under Teetan and found enough to get the better of Trillion Win in a battle to the line, beating Manfred Man Ka-lueng’s galloper by a short head, with Winner Method a length away in third.

With Whyte’s words ringing in his ears, Teetan knew he had to get his timing right to ensure Carroll Street was in front when it mattered.

“He stopped pretty quick there. Douglas warned me, ‘if he hits the front, he’ll stop’,” Teetan said.

Hall lands fabulous four-timer at Sha Tin as Beluga continues to deliver

“He hasn’t raced for eight months, but he’s been trialling well in the lead-up to this race and I sat as long as I could – until the 200m mark. His fitness will come on.”

Chadwick back among the winners

He did not go as long between drinks as Carroll Street, but Matthew Chadwick tasted some long-awaited success of his own on Sunday.

Sidelined for eight weeks after fracturing his ankle in a fall in December, Chadwick had to wait until his fourth meeting back to return to the winner’s list, but he did it in style with a double.

The victory of the Tony Millard-trained Super Hong Kong in the Class Four TVB Tung Wah Celebrity Show Handicap (2,000m) was Chadwick’s first since his win aboard Super Sunny Sing on December 11, and he was back in on the act just two races later aboard the Chris So Wai-yin-trained Flying High in the Class Four TVB Yan Chai Charity Show Handicap (1,000m).

Chadwick’s haul ensures he remains firmly entrenched in the top 10 in the jockeys’ premiership on 19 wins.

Star Australian pair land trebles

On a day when their compatriot David Hall took the training honours with a superb four-timer, Zac Purton and Hugh Bowman edged Chadwick in the riding ranks by each landing a treble.

Purton did his damage early, taking out the opener aboard the Jamie Richards-trained Fortune Master before saluting for Hall aboard Flying Mojito and Prince Of Porty to secure his hat-trick within the first six races.

Purton sits on 94 wins for the season – exactly double his closest rival Vincent Ho Chak-yiu – but may have his path to another century of winners slowed after receiving a rare suspension on Sunday.

Purton was handed a two-meeting ban for careless riding aboard Sinba in the last race and will miss the meetings on March 5 and 8, making his bid to beat Joao Moreira’s single-season record of 170 winners just that little bit tougher.

Purton was among three jockeys to be given holidays, with Alexis Badel (March 1 and 5) and Lyle Hewitson (March 11 and 15) also suspended for two fixtures.

Bowman came to the fore late, with his running treble to close the card seeing him finish the week with five wins after his double at Happy Valley on Wednesday.

Bowman, who will ride at Randwick this Saturday before returning for Sunday’s Group One meeting at Sha Tin, opened his account aboard the John Size-trained Running Glory ($5.75) in the Class Two TVB Cup (2,000m).

Running Glory’s victory followed on from his last-start second behind Senor Toba in the Group Three Centenary Vase (1,800m) on February 5 and will push his rating into triple figures.

Bowman then struck on the day’s biggest outsider in the Class Three TVB Wai Yin Association Special Handicap (1,200m), saluting aboard the Dennis Yip Chor-hong-trained Goko Win at $31.8.

Bowman closed the card with success aboard Hall’s Atullibigeal at $10.9 to complete a $1,993 treble.

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