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Douglas Whyte has maintained his impressive form with yet another victory at Happy Valley on Wednesday night. However, despite his success, the South African trainer will not be participating in the prestigious Longines Hong Kong International Races next month. This unfortunate news comes as Russian Emperor, one of Whyte's notable horses, has been declared unfit to compete.
Russian Emperor, the three-time Group One winner, was expected to be the top local contender in the Gr.1 Hong Kong Vase. Unfortunately, a veterinary issue has forced the horse to miss the biggest race day in the city. As a result, the feature now only has 11 runners, with only three from Hong Kong - Senor Toba, Five G Patch, and La City Blanche - left to represent the Bauhinia flag.
Despite the setback, jockey Whyte remained upbeat, especially after guiding 5YO Wonder Years to an impressive victory in the Class Four Stirling Castle Handicap at a price of US$15.7. The horse came from last position to storm home and take the win, leaving Whyte with a smile on his face.
“The stable is in good form, and a horse like him makes a huge difference. He’s come all the way from Class Five, and he’s not the easiest horse to both train and ride,” Whyte said after Wonder Years stormed over the top of his rivals under Keagan de Melo following a brutally run race.
“He’s not very comfortable from a jockey’s perspective, but we rode him differently tonight. Instead of taking off from a long way out, we gave him a chance, and all credit to Keagan. He rode a very good race on him. We asked him to try something different tonight, and it seemed to do the trick.”
The Class Three Dunnottar Castle Handicap witnessed an outstanding display of athleticism from Chill Chibi, the 4YO who seems to be on a steady path towards the Hong Kong Derby. The victory was so convincing that it left no room for doubt about the horse's potential.
“He’s a nice horse, and he’s getting better day by day. Even though he carried top weight, I was still confident he could win the race,” said trainer Danny Shum Chap-shing.
“I can enter him over 2,000m at Sha Tin or run him in a 1,650m Class Two at Happy Valley. After that, we’ll give him a bit of a break and go straight to the Derby.”
Chill Chibi started off slow, but with the help of jockey Jerry Chau Chun-lok, the horse picked up speed and effortlessly overtook its competitors, securing its fourth consecutive win.
“He’s a fantastic horse, he’s got a good heart, and every time he fights for me,” said Chau, who completed a double thanks to the electric victory of Benno Yung Tin-pang’s Son Pak Fu in the Class Two Eilean Castle Handicap.
Yung achieved a double win, as Turtle Again won earlier in the day with Yung as the only trainer to achieve this feat.
As several jockeys head to Conghua for Friday morning’s turf trials, Sha Tin’s all-weather heats have been moved forward by 24 hours. Two Gr.1 Hong Kong Mile runners will participate in Thursday morning's heats. Gr.2 Jockey Club Mile winner, Beauty Eternal, will be ridden by Zac Purton, while Hong Kong Derby hero, Voyage Bubble, will be ridden by James McDonald, his new jockey. McDonald will ride Voyage Bubble for the first time in the Hong Kong Mile on 10th. Tony Cruz has confirmed that Christophe Soumillon will be the new rider for California Spangle on International day.
Sixty has impressed his trainer, Ho, ahead of his return and Ho has urged everyone to still believe in him. It will be the fourth jockey in as many starts for the reigning Hong Kong Mile champion, with Purton partnering the 5YO in all of his eight runs last season before Hugh Bowman and then Matthew Chadwick jumped in the saddle for the gelding’s two races this campaign.
Maxime Guyon will be the jockey for Cruz's other Hong Kong Mile runner, Beauty Joy, while Alexis Badel will keep his ride aboard Wellington for the Gr.1 Hong Kong Sprint race. Despite initially stating that Ryan Moore would take the mount, Jamie Richards has confirmed that the Frenchman will get the chance to chase his fourth elite-level victory in tandem with the speedster.