Ho and Bowman excel with Sha Tin trebles as Newnham slots three-timer
Vincent Ho completed preparations for his defence of the International Jockeys’ Championship (IJC) at Happy Valley on Wednesday night with a treble at Sha Tin on Sunday – a haul matched by Hugh Bowman and Mark Newnham.
Four days after becoming only the 11th jockey to ride 600 or more winners in Hong Kong, Ho struck aboard The Boom Box (Spirit Of Boom), Vulcanus (Lean Mean Machine) and Healthy Healthy (Per Incanto) – who successfully backed up for Pierre Ng after providing Ho’s milestone victory last Wednesday.
Restricted to swimming and trotting exercises since his midweek victory, Healthy Healthy posted his fifth win from 22 starts to seal Ho’s treble.
“He was actually a bit fresh, that’s why he pinged the gate and was up there on the speed,” Ho said. “He has rarely raced at Sha Tin, so I think he really enjoyed the change of environment.
“It’s exciting to be involved in the [International] Jockeys’ Championship, but I just take it race by race and see what happens.”
The first homegrown Hong Kong jockey to win the IJC, Ho will be joined in Wednesday’s four-race series by Zac Purton, Bowman, Karis Teetan, James McDonald, Ryan Moore, Hollie Doyle, Rachel King, Yuga Kawada, Colin Keane, Mickael Barzalona and William Buick.
Ho guided Chris So’s first-starter The Boom Box to success in the Class 4 Cameron Handicap (1200m), advanced to a race-to-race double aboard the Me Tsui-trained Vulcanus in the Class 5 Carnarvon Handicap (1200m, dirt) and then prevailed on Healthy Healthy.
With 20 wins for the season, Ho trails only Purton (44) and Bowman (24), who also shone atop Reliable Profit (Reliable Man), Talents Ambition (Into Mischief) and Dragon Joy (Saxon Warrior).
“It’s just nice for the horses to be running well, winning is good,” Bowman, fresh from a Happy Valley double on Wednesday night, said. “It had been a frustrating month but, in saying that, there was only two or three meetings where I really went home thinking ‘what’s wrong?’
“The other times, even if I wasn’t riding winners, I was riding placings. The IJC is going to be more determined by the horses that are drawn – I know I can do the job if I’m on the right horses.”
Newnham vaulted into second place in the Hong Kong trainers’ championship behind Ng with a treble. Taking his tally to 20 wins to move within three wins of Ng (22), Newnham struck with Sing Dragon (Written Tycoon), Talents Ambition and My Wish (Flying Artie) in the concluding Class 3 Salisbury Handicap (1400m) under Luke Ferraris.
“That’s a little bit surreal. One thing that has been really consistent from day one of the season is that our horses have raced well every week,” Newnham said of his stable’s rise to second in the championship.
“We haven’t hit any real slumps yet and naturally with the ratings system that will happen at some stage. But we still have some unexposed horses and hopefully they fill the gaps when the others have found their level.
“We came with not a lot of runners, but we did have genuine chances all day and it couldn’t have gone better.”
Newnham is considering a tilt at the Hong Kong Classic Mile (Listed, 1600m) with My Wish on January 31.
“He’s getting up there to a rating which would suggest that’s a good target for him. He’s still got to show he can run a mile, but with the way he settled today there’s no reason not to try it,” the winning trainer said.
Sing Dragon continued to excel on Sha Tin dirt with victory in the Class 2 The Peninsula Golden Jubilee Challenge Cup Handicap (1200m). Ridden brilliantly by Matthew Chadwick, the gelding made it four wins from five starts on the all-weather.
Formerly known as Operative when trained by Chris Waller, Sing Dragon was the first leg of a race-to-race double for Newnham before Talents Ambition landed the Class 3 Mody Handicap (1650m, dirt) under Bowman.
Reliable Profit continued his searing all-weather form with a dogged victory for Danny Shum and Bowman in the Class 4 Middle Handicap (1800m, dirt). A Hong Kong International Sale graduate, Reliable Profit was winless in his first 13 starts, but has hit form with a vengeance.
Bowman completed his spree atop Dragon Joy in the Class 4 Nathan Handicap (1400m) for Ricky Yiu.
Purton and David Hayes combined to win the Class 5 Ashley Handicap (1650m, dirt) with Precision Goal (Tavistock), whose head margin denied Alexis Pouchin a perfect start to his short-term Hong Kong riding stint.
“He [Precision Goal] did a good job. At the 600 metres, Zac thought he was going to win by four lengths. At the 200 metres, he thought he was going to get beaten by a neck,” Hayes said.
Aca Power (Zoffany) notched his fourth course and distance win for David Hall and Alexis Badel, scoring in the Class 4 Hankow Handicap (1200m, dirt).
“He’s very consistent and he loves this surface,” Hall said of the eight-year-old, who notched his fifth win from 44 starts in Hong Kong. The veteran won twice and was placed twice when he raced in Australia as Keen Power for trainer Matthew Dunn.