Flaming Rabbit bounces back with front-running demolition
Lyle Hewitson has always been a superb judge of pace and he produced a brilliant front-running ride aboard Flaming Rabbit (Time Test) to win the Class 2 United Alumni Handicap (1600m) at Sha Tin on Sunday.
Outwitting his six rivals aboard the five-year-old in a time of 1m 35.15s (25.61, 23.88, 22.78, 22.88), Hewitson netted his 27th victory this term after finding an untroubled lead to prevail over The Golden Scenery (Deep Field) and favourite Mugen (Deep Field).
“In his first season he used to just win a length or two at the start and be able to take control of the race a little bit more, whereas more recently he’s been coming out on terms with them and there’s a little bit more pressure,” Hewitson said.
“Getting to the mile and him jumping like he used to allowed me to control the first two furlongs and then I was gradually able to keep picking up.”
Victory came by a runaway length and a quarter. It was Hewitson’s first in tandem with Douglas Whyte this season, snapping a lengthy run of outs.
“It’s been a long time between drinks. He’s been one of my main go-to jockeys and I’ve been a great supporter of his – we have no issues, he’s a friend of mine. It’s just circumstances and Hong Kong being Hong Kong. We just haven’t had the luck. I’m glad the monkey is off both of our backs,” Whyte said.
Whyte had hoped Flaming Rabbit, who previously won last July, was able to feature in last month’s Irish Thoroughbred Marketing Cup (1600m) at Al Rayyan.
“I had this horse penned in to go to Qatar and his form just wasn’t where it was today. He’s always had it but he’s a colt and he’s just been a little bit awkward to deal with. Suppose we take today’s run, if he had run that race in Qatar, he would have been in the first three,” Whyte said.
Whyte labelled the Premier Plate Handicap (Gr 3, 1800m) at Sha Tin on June 23 as a potential long-range target for Flaming Rabbit, who won Group 3 races in Germany and the UK prior to import.
Francis Lui bagged a double to get within eight wins of championship-leading trainer Pierre Ng, who later pushed the margin back out to nine with a win of his own when Frantanck (Frankel) landed the Class 3 CW Chu And Wu Yee Sun Alumni Handicap (1600m).
Trailing his former assistant 45-54, Lui first prevailed with Lucky Gold (Iffraaj) in the Class 4 CUHK Alumni Cup Handicap (1400m) with Jerry Chau before Superb Kid (Sebring) powered clear under Zac Purton in the Class 3 Shaw Alumni Handicap (1400m), providing the in-form trainer with his eighth win through March.
The victory was Purton’s second of the day after Young Horizon (Star Witness) won the Class 5 New Asia Alumni Handicap (1400m) for David Hayes and the HKJC Racing Club Limited.
Chau capped a double of his own when James Tak (Headwater) nailed the Class 3 Morningside And S.H. Ho Alumni Handicap (1200m). The gelding now has three wins from six starts for Benno Yung.
“He’s a very nice horse. He’s improved every race and it’s easy to train him in the mornings. He is such a nice, settled horse in trackwork and he shows his talent in races. I think he’ll keep improving,” Chau said.
The emerging Voyage Samurai (Dissident) faces a rise in grade after returning a second victory at only his third start in the Class 4 Graduate School Alumni Handicap (1400m). The four-year-old led throughout for Derek Leung and Frankie Lor.
“He’s still green. I think at the end of this season or next season that he will be a much better horse,” Leung said.
Chris So savoured a double. Smart Leader (Delago Deluxe) scored in the Class 5 Chung Chi Alumni Handicap (1200m) under Keagan De Melo before Prosecco (Starspangledbanner) prevailed for the first time in the Class 4 Faculty Of Education Alumni Handicap (1000m) under Karis Teetan.
“It’s nice to get the win out of the way with him [Smart Leader]. I’m truly grateful to Chris and his team,” De Melo said.
Apprentice Ellis Wong moved to 11 wins for the season, scoring aboard Phoenix Light (Love Conquers All), who took the Class 4 Lee Woo Sing Alumni Handicap (1200m) for Dennis Yip.