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| Staff Writer |
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Young Emperor and Romantic Son renew their rivalry at Happy Valley on Wednesday night in the US$238,000 Class 3 Fung Mo Handicap (1200m), with the latter seeking redemption after being toppled as favourite last month.
In a stunning performance, Young Emperor stormed to victory from draw eight at 41/1 for trainer David Eustace and rising star Luke Ferraris. The South African ace, boasting nine wins from 76 rides this term, aims to maintain his mount's unblemished Hong Kong record.
"I thought it was a really good win. It caught everyone a bit by surprise, so that's always a good thing. He's got a similar barrier this time round (nine), but he's showing us that he does have a pretty lethal turn of foot and I think he can get a similar run in transit," Ferraris said.
The HKJC Racing Club Limited's representative, formerly trained by James Stack in Ireland, tasted success at Naas under his previous moniker Eclipse Emerald.
The 74-rated Young Emperor shoulders an additional nine pounds this time (132lb), while Romantic Son breaks from stall three carrying 124lb under champion jockey Zac Purton for dual Hong Kong Champion Trainer David Hayes.
The field includes Sugar Sugar (135lb), Eason (127lb), Gustosisimo (127lb), Prawns Eleven (127lb), Denfield (124lb), Golden Empire (124lb), Happy United (123lb), Sovereign Fund (121lb), Our Lucky Glory (120lb) and Sky Forever (119lb).
Previous winners of this contest include Hong Kong stars Lucky Nine (2010), who went on to capture multiple Group One successes, and Joy And Fun (2008), later victorious in Dubai.
Ferraris, the youngest rider in Hong Kong at 22, follows in the footsteps of his father David Ferraris, who saddled 461 winners including 2005 Hong Kong Derby hero Vengeance Of Rain.
"The strike rate is good and it was good to get a couple of those horses home early on who came as a bit of a surprise. I'm starting to generate a bit of momentum now," the young pilot said.
Purton, leading the championship with 35 victories, sits just 39 wins shy of Douglas Whyte's all-time Hong Kong record of 1,813 successes. He partners debut winner Triumphant More in tomorrow's Class 4 Lei Yue Mun Handicap (1200m) for trainer Frankie Lor.
The nine-race card kicks off at 6.40pm local time with the Class 5 Ngau Chi Wan Handicap (2200m).