David Hayes hopes China Win (121lb) can warrant last-minute selection for the HK$26 million 149th BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m) when he contests Wednesday night\u2019s (11 March) Class 3 Lyttelton Handicap (1800m) under Zac Purton.<\/p>
Currently rated 67, China Win is aiming to emulate Beauty Alliance, who last season secured the final BMW Hong Kong Derby spot with victory in this race at Happy Valley, earning a 12-point rating rise (65 to 77) and his place in the contest, which is finalised by the selection panel, who will determine the 14-runner field later this week.\u00a0<\/p>
Hayes said: \u201cI think if he was lucky enough to win, then he\u2019d be in the calculations to get the last spot. The horse has a good gate (three), and his trackwork and trials have been excellent.<\/p>
\u201cHe\u2019s had a bit of time between runs because he was scratched due to a heart anomaly, which was rectified straight away, so that put us a bit behind the eight ball, but he\u2019s in good form for this race.\u201d<\/p>
The BMW Hong Kong Derby takes place at Sha Tin on 22 March, and China Win has emerged as an unlikely candidate. The Super Seth gelding took seven starts to break through, but has shown that stamina is his best asset by winning his most recent two outings over 1800m.<\/p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column]
China Win breaks through at Sha Tin with Zac Purton aboard.<\/p>[\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
\u201cHis win before last was probably more eye-catching with Zac on when he came from last and barrier 14, and even the start before that he was only beaten an inch, so he\u2019s in really good form,\u201d Hayes said. \u201cHe\u2019s by a sire that produces horses who get over a bit of ground. We couldn\u2019t be happier with the way he\u2019s progressing.\u201d<\/p>
Racing against China Win, Le Zonda (129lb) is searching for a first win in Hong Kong and with a rating of 75 can also enter the BMW Hong Kong Derby conversation.<\/p>
Hayes is looking forward to unleashing Ka Ying Rising in the HK$5.35 million G2 Sprint Cup (1200m) on 6 April at Sha Tin, where the world\u2019s leading sprinter goes for a record-extending 19th consecutive win.<\/p>
\u201cHe did some striding work with Zac on this morning (Tuesday, 10 March). Zac was very happy with him, and he ran home in around 12 and a half seconds. He\u2019ll have a barrier trial around 10 days out from the 6th (of April). He\u2019ll be in the Sprint Cup, then the Chairman\u2019s Sprint Prize (G1, 1200m) and then his season is over,\u201d Hayes said.<\/p>
James Orman is enjoying an impressive run, posting a double on Sunday (8 March) at Sha Tin. He reunites with last-start winner Somelovefromabove (128lb) for championship-leading trainer Caspar Fownes in the Class 4 Breezy Handicap (1200m).<\/p>
\u201cIt was good to get a ride for Caspar Fownes. Somelovefromabove began well from a good gate; he took the lead, and he never really looked like getting beaten. He seems to have come through the run well. I\u2019m very excited to be on him again,\u201d Orman said.<\/p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”15222″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” onclick=”link_image”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
Karis Teetan believes Sagacious Life can atone for finishing last in the HK$13 million Hong Kong Classic Cup (1800m) when he contests the BMW Hong Kong Derby.<\/p>
\u201cHe\u2019s a nice horse going into the Derby, and the distance should be no problem. He\u2019s run over the distance. He had a bit of hard luck last time; he was crowded and got checked out pretty badly. I think we can excuse it, and I\u2019ve done a bit of work with him in the mornings, and he feels like a really nice horse,\u201d Teetan said.<\/p>
Teetan rides dual runner-up Vivacious Win (121lb) in the Class 4 Hatton Handicap (1650m) at Happy Valley for trainer David Eustace.<\/p>
\u201cI think the horse has shown a lot of improvement, and I think there\u2019s more improvement to come. Let\u2019s hope he gets a bit of luck from the draw (12) this time,\u201d Teetan said.<\/p>
Harry Bentley believes a good gate can assist Prestige Always (124lb) in his quest for a second win in the Class 3 Craigengower Cricket Club Challenge Cup Handicap (1200m).<\/p>
\u201cHe\u2019s been knocking on the door. He\u2019s run some good races,\u201d Bentley said. \u201cHe needs a good draw (four), which he has got, and he\u2019s a horse who probably doesn\u2019t have a load of early speed, but the lower draw will help him get a midfield position.\u201d<\/p>
Wednesday\u2019s (11 March) nine-race fixture at Happy Valley begins with the Class 5 Conduit Handicap (1000m) at 6.40pm.<\/p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”15221″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” onclick=”link_image”][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]David Hayes hopes China Win (121lb) can warrant last-minute selection for the HK$26 million 149th BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m) when he contests Wednesday night\u2019s (11 March) Class 3 Lyttelton Handicap (1800m) under Zac Purton.Currently rated 67, China Win is aiming to emulate Beauty Alliance, who last season secured the final… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":15224,"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\/racing-event-hub-4yo-series\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15218"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-4yo-series\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-4yo-series\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-4yo-series\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-4yo-series\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15218"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-4yo-series\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15218\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15234,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-4yo-series\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15218\/revisions\/15234"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-4yo-series\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15224"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-4yo-series\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15218"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-4yo-series\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15218"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/campaigns.hkjc.com\/racing-event-hub-4yo-series\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15218"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}