David Hall plans to run Atullibigeal in the HK$24 million BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m) on 19 March after victory this afternoon (Sunday, 19 February) under Hugh Bowman in the Class 3 TVB Midlife, Sing & Shine Handicap (1600m) at Sha Tin.<\/p>
Stepping up to a mile for the first time in his career, Atullibigeal raised the bar once more with flying colours to cap a sparkling day for Hall who reaped a four-timer, while Bowman collected a running treble to close out the 10-race fixture.<\/p>
\u201cDefinitely, the Derby will be the aim. I think he\u2019ll run the distance and he\u2019s got enough points there \u2013 he\u2019s a worthy runner.<\/p>
\u201cI think today\u2019s win will just about guarantee he gets a run (in the BMW Hong Kong Derby). He won\u2019t run in the (Hong Kong) Classic Cup and what path we take to get there \u2013 I am not sure of yet,\u201d Hall said.<\/p>
Atullibigeal \u2013 rated 78 prior to this afternoon\u2019s win \u2013 captured his second triumph in Hong Kong for Hall and Bowman after arriving as a two-time winner from New Zealand.<\/p>
\u201cHe\u2019s shown a lot at home \u2013 he\u2019s loaded with raw ability and today it was a tricky draw and there was a fair bit of pressure early on which we didn\u2019t quite expect.<\/p>
\u201cI had visions about riding a more positive race on him but that was taken out of my hands, so I just let him find his rhythm and he just came through his gears really well, I had a smooth passage and he let down really well,\u201d Bowman said.<\/p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column]
Atullibigeal lets rip under Hugh Bowman<\/p>[\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
The improving son of Street Boss lugged 133lb to victory from gate 12 of 14 today, clocking a winning time of 1m 34.99s at odds of 9\/1 ahead of a rapidly closing Amazing Victory with Prince Alex grabbing third.\u00a0<\/p>
\u201cI think he\u2019s up to better classes but he\u2019s not quite the finished article yet but, my word, he\u2019s taking his job really seriously and I\u2019m really proud of him,\u201d Bowman said.<\/p>
The first of Bowman\u2019s treble today came as Running Glory snatched the inaugural Class 2 TVB Cup Handicap (2000m) for trainer John Size.<\/p>
Small in stature but big in heart, Running Glory (135lb) \u2013 who weighs in with a 980lb bodyweight \u2013 had his consistency rewarded as he weaved from last-to-first between runners under Bowman to overhaul a defiant Butterfield (134lb) and Five G Patch (120lb) in 2m 03.41s.<\/p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”7679″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” onclick=”link_image”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
\u201cHe\u2019s a nice horse, he\u2019s very consistent \u2013 he had top weight to contend with and that was the biggest worry,\u201d Bowman said. \u201cThere wasn\u2019t much room on either side and I was waiting until I got close, I waited until the death to decide. I had the horse and I am very proud of him.\u201d<\/p>
The middle of Bowman\u2019s trio came aboard Goko Win in the Class 3 TVB Wai Yin Association Special Handicap (1200m) at odds of 30\/1 for trainer Dennis Yip.<\/p>
Prince Of Porty extended his unbeaten record to two with a comfortable victory under Zac Purton \u2013 who also bagged a treble \u2013 in 1m 08.82s for Hall in the Class 4 TVB Tung Wah Charity Show Handicap (1200m).<\/p>
\u201cHe had the right gate, just to lob into a spot where he was comfortable. The speed was quite solid, so he got into a nice rhythm and he was just able to do as he pleased \u2013 it was a good effort but he\u2019s still learning,\u201d Purton said.<\/p>
Hall has no qualms regarding Prince Of Porty\u2019s ability of being competitive in Class 3.<\/p>
\u201cI think the day he trialled against Campione at Happy Valley told us that he\u2019s a little bit better than a Class 4 horse. It was a good trial that day and now he\u2019s put it together \u2013 I think Class 3 is very achievable for him,\u201d Hall said.<\/p>
Purton earlier rode Flying Mojito to breakthrough victory for Hall in the Class 4 TVB Po Leung Kuk Gala Spectacular Handicap (1600m).<\/p>
\u201cWe\u2019ll continue to increase his distance and we stay in the class, it wasn\u2019t a big margin today and hopefully there\u2019s another win around the corner,\u201d Hall said.<\/p>
Purton kicked off his trio with victory for Jamie Richards in the Class 5 TVB Charity Fund Handicap (1400m) aboard Fortune Master.<\/p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”7680″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” onclick=”link_image”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Hall\u2019s quartet came from seven runners with Beluga kicking off his stellar afternoon under Matthew Poon with victory in the Class 1 TVB Yan Oi Tong Charity Show Handicap (1400m) ahead of Beauty Joy by three quarters of a length in 1m 21.75s.<\/p>
\u201cHe\u2019s very honest, very consistent and this time in Class 1 he carried a light weight (113lb), so I thought he had a chance in this race,\u201d Poon said. \u201cWe positioned him exactly where we expected and everything went quite smooth \u2013 he deserved this win.\u201d<\/p>
Fresh following victory in the QAT G1 H.H. The Amir Trophy (2400m) in Doha, Qatar with Russian Emperor \u2013 Douglas Whyte was out to savour a win on home soil and he did exactly that as Carroll Street denied a persistent Trillion Win by a short head in the Class 2 TVB Pok Oi Charity Show Handicap (1000m) in 55.85s.<\/p>
\u201cHe stopped pretty quick there, Douglas warned me \u2018if he hits the front, he will stop\u2019. He hasn\u2019t raced for eight months but he has been trialling well in the lead-up to this race and I sat as long as I could, until the 200 metre mark.<\/p>
\u201cHis fitness will come on and it\u2019s nice to have a win for Douglas \u2013 he\u2019s on cloud nine now, so it\u2019s wonderful,\u201d Teetan said.<\/p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”7681″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” onclick=”link_image”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Matthew Chadwick savoured sweet victory this afternoon aboard the Tony Millard-trained Super Hong Kong in the Class 4 Tung Wah Celebrity Show Handicap (2000m).<\/p>
The win kicked off a double for Chadwick, who later scored atop Flying High for trainer Chris So in the Class 4 TVB Yan Chai Charity Show Handicap (1000m).<\/p>
\u201cIt\u2019s just been a bit unfortunate. This fellow (Super Hong Kong) \u2013 he was very fit and healthy in the mornings, he got the right run and he came away nicely,\u201d Chadwick said.<\/p>
Given a superb ride by the 32-year-old, Super Hong Kong dug deep to give Chadwick his first win following injury and to also snap his trainer\u2019s recent run of outs.<\/p>
\u201cI\u2019d like to say a very special thank you to those loyal owners of mine, because those guys have been sitting there and supporting me \u2013 I thank them because it has not been easy, I can tell you, I was very happy just to win today,\u201d Millard said.<\/p>
Super Hong Kong collected the third win of his career for Millard and second in Class 4.<\/p>
\u201cIt\u2019s been very tough this season \u2013 in 37 years of racing we have never ever had it like this. It\u2019s just one of those things, our stable has been caught in the perfect storm \u2013 we had COVID and we didn\u2019t buy (horses) and then we just lacked the young horses coming through,\u201d Millard said. \u201cI think that our luck has turned and we\u2019re looking forward to a good end to the season \u2013 may we have many more winners.\u201d<\/p>
Hong Kong racing continues at Happy Valley this Wednesday (22 February).<\/p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”7678″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” onclick=”link_image”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]David Hall plans to run Atullibigeal in the HK$24 million BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m) on 19 March after victory this afternoon (Sunday, 19 February) under Hugh Bowman in the Class 3 TVB Midlife, Sing & Shine Handicap (1600m) at Sha Tin.Stepping up to a mile for the first time in… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":7683,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"_oasis_task_priority":"2normal","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/4yo-series\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7675"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/4yo-series\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/4yo-series\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/4yo-series\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/4yo-series\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7675"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/4yo-series\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7675\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7684,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/4yo-series\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7675\/revisions\/7684"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/4yo-series\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7683"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/4yo-series\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7675"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/4yo-series\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7675"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/4yo-series\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7675"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}