Birthday boy Poon lands Panasonic Cup in Sha Tin double
Matthew Poon crowned his 31st birthday celebrations in perfect style with a Sha Tin double capped by Green N White’s (Smart Missile) victory in the Class 2 Panasonic Cup Handicap (1400m) on Saturday.
Maintaining hopes of claiming one of two remaining berths in the International Jockeys’ Championship (IJC) at Happy Valley on December 4, Poon continued an excellent season with victories aboard Ricky Yiu’s Green N White and David Hall’s Ka Ying Attack (Too Darn Hot) in the Class 4 Panasonic Smaller Multi-Split Air Conditioner Handicap (1200m).
Lightweight Poon was elated after wasting to ride Green N White at 113lb after the pair forged to a one and a quarter length victory over Packing Hermod (Rubick) and Drombeg Banner (Starspangledbanner) in 1m 20.34s, almost breaking Fantastic Treasure’s (Written Tycoon) class record of 1m 20.28.
Jumping cleanly from barrier two, Green N White enjoyed a trouble-free run behind leader Drombeg Banner before angling into the clear at the 150 metres and hitting the front 50 metres from the line.
“The barrier draw helped a lot because I reckon this field is a very strong field – most of the horses had a chance to win. Luckily, the pace was fast and, from the draw, I was able to get a good spot and he was able to finish off the race,” Poon said.
“I’m very happy with this win and I got some birthday luck today. I was three-deep the whole way on Ka Ying Attack, no cover, so I think it was pretty much the horse. He had improved mentally and physically since his first start. I think he will improve again from this run.
“I’m very happy and I need to thank my former boss [David Hall]. It’s been a long time since I have ridden a winner for him.”
With 13 wins for the season, Poon is in fifth place in the Hong Kong jockeys’ championship behind Zac Purton (35), Hugh Bowman (19), Vincent Ho (15) and Karis Teetan (13), who has more minor placings than Poon.
Poon is optimistic of joining the 12-jockey IJC roster next month and, with Purton and Ho already in the line-up as last season’s Hong Kong champion jockey and IJC champion, respectively, Poon is vying with Bowman, Teetan and Matthew Chadwick (11 wins) for the remaining spots.
Trainer Cody Mo is likely to resist the temptation to target the Hong Kong Sprint (Gr 1, 1200m) on December 8 with Magic Control (Sioux Nation) after the gelding’s short-head victory over the John Size-trained Wunderbar (Rich Enuff) in the Class 2 Panasonic Japan Made System Kitchen Handicap (1000m).
“I think the 1000 metres is better for him at the moment, but the next race I will probably try the 1200 metres in December – not the Hong Kong Sprint, though,” Mo said. “In his first run for my stable, he ran a very good time and in the Group 3 he also ran a fast time, so I could see he had a lot of ability. The only concern for me in the race was John’s horse [Wunderbar] but he did a good job.”
Ridden by Matthew Chadwick, Magic Control – who won the Red Anchor Stakes (Gr 3, 1200m) as Archo Nacho in Australia for Matt Laurie – claimed his second win from four starts in Hong Kong.
Chadwick said: “It was a nice win, he [Magic Control] did what we expected him to do. He still gets himself a bit hot, he just keeps sweating, but he had a nice smooth run, which is what we wanted, and we tried to catch a bit of a break off the second horse and it panned out nicely.”
Mo also combined with Teetan to land the Class 4 Panasonic Mini LED TV Handicap (1200m) with Hong Kong International Sale graduate Patch Of Time (Written Tycoon) while apprentice Britney Wong notched her fourth win of the season with a well-judged ride on Manfred Man’s Spangle Fortune (Starspangledbanner) in the Class 5 Panashop Handicap (1650m, dirt).
The Danny Shum-trained Joyful Prosperity (Daiwa Major) fought tenaciously under Purton to overhaul Jubilation (Ghibellines) in the Class 4 Panasonic Smart Lock Handicap (2000m) before Pierre Ng (18 wins) stretched his lead at the top of the trainers’ championships with Excel Wongchoy’s (Exceed And Excel) win under Vincent Ho in the Class 4 Panasonic IH Warm Jar Handicap (1650m, dirt).
Purton posted a brace when Savvy Brilliant (Toronado) stormed home to capture the Class 3 Panasonic 2-In-1 Washer Dryer Handicap (1200m) for Frankie Lor, who closed the meeting with a race-to-race double as Voyage Samurai (Dissident) continued his exceptional consistency by winning the Class 3 Panasonic Thermo Ventilator Handicap (1600m) under Derek Leung.
The gelding improved his overall record to four wins and three seconds from seven starts.
Lyle Hewitson prevailed aboard the Douglas Whyte-trained Strathpeffer (Dundeel) narrowly over Legend St Paul’s (Tivaci) in the Class 4 Panasonic Ziaino Air Treatment Handicap (1400m).