Packing Angel shapes strongly as Zac Purton edges closer to Hong Kong record
Packing Angel (Shocking) emerged as a potential Four-Year-Old Classic Series contender after the gelding’s victory in the Class 3 Broadwood Handicap (1400m) at Sha Tin on Sunday shunted Zac Purton to within eight wins of equalling Douglas Whyte’s Hong Kong record of 1,813 wins.
Trained by Francis Lui and rated 63, Packing Angel handled the rise in grade to Class 3 with aplomb, edging clear of Kaholo Angel (Havana Grey) to win by three quarters of a length, impressing Purton.
“He’s got a long way to go on ratings, but he’s a young horse on the way up. He’s improving all the time and it was a pretty soft win in the end. There’s a bit more there,” Purton said after sealing a double and taking his Hong Kong career tally to 1,805 wins.
“Two wins is always a good result, but a couple of things didn’t quite go right in races – I had a few people taking me on, making it hard but that’s Hong Kong.”
The Hong Kong Classic Mile (Listed, 1600m) is run at Sha Tin on January 31 and is followed by the Hong Kong Classic Cup (Listed, 1800m) on March 2 and the Hong Kong Derby (Listed, 2000m) on March 23.
Last season’s champion trainer, Lui shared training honours with John Size and David Hayes, with the trio snaring doubles.
Lui also struck with Baby Crystal (Per Incanto), who gave Alexis Pouchin his second Hong Kong victory in the Class 3 Tai Tong Shan Handicap (1000m), clocking a slick 56.32s and winning by almost three lengths.
Hayes moved into third position in the Hong Kong trainers’ championship with a brace, combining with Purton to win the Class 4 Tai Mong Tsai Handicap (1000m) with Circuit Jolly (Ten Sovereigns) before apprentice Ellis Wong guided Ariel (Exceed And Excel) to an all-the-way success in the Class 4 Po Leung Kuk Cup Handicap (1800m).
Size continued his surge with a double, triumphing with Raging Blizzard (Per Incanto) in the Class 2 Tai Tong Handicap (1200m) for Hugh Bowman and Country Dancer (Nicconi) in the Class 5 Tsam Chuk Wan Handicap (1200m) under Karis Teetan.
“There was pressure on and the tempo of the race suited him,” Size said of Raging Blizzard, who settled last before overwhelming his rivals for the second successive start. “He’s done no work early and he got an inside run and saved a lot of energy. He was able to finish it off well.
“There’s a Class 1 [1200m] for him [February 9], so we’ll have a look. He’s never been racing this well.”
Bowman said: “He [Raging Blizzard] is very genuine, he has a beautiful attitude toward racing, he enjoys being left alone early but he’s there for you when you need him and he’s got a good record together now. He’ll head up to Class 1 and he won’t be out of place there.”
The Frankie Lor-trained Sword Point (American Pharoah) survived an objection before being declared the winner of the Class 2 Pak Tam Chung Handicap (1650m, dirt) and will now be considered for an overseas campaign.
Lor hopes the 105-rater, unbeaten after two starts on dirt, will be invited to run in the Godolphin Mile (Gr 2, 1600m, dirt) at Meydan on April 5.
Dylan Mo posted his first win of the season with a copybook ride on Danny Shum’s Super Legends (Brave Smash) to win the Class 3 Leighton Handicap (1200m).
“I need to say a big thank you to the owner and trainer for giving me a chance to ride this horse,” Mo said. “In this time, it has been a bit hard for me but I will try my best 100 per cent to ride these horses well.
“I was told with this horse [Super Legends] that if I could not lead or the pace is too fast to get the box seat and it worked out well.”
Another World (Kermadec) overcame difficulties in the straight under Lyle Hewitson to clinch the Class 4 Caroline Hill Handicap (1400m) to continue Benno Yung’s strong form.
“Nine times out of ten, you think you are just gone [when blocked for a run] and there’s nothing left but once the gap re-opened, I just felt him pick up the bridle again and I went with him,” Hewitson said of Another World’s chequered passaged in the straight. “Most horses can’t give two kicks, it was quite an impressive win, actually.”
Hong Lok Golf (Grunt) made it two wins in a row, finishing strongly under Harry Bentley to land the Class 4 Tai Lam Handicap (1200m) to confirm Chris So’s high opinion of the four-year-old.
“He’s a good horse. He drew wide [barrier nine] and I didn’t think there was much pace in the race, so I was worried. But he showed he’s a good horse. He was three-wide all the way. It was impressive. I expected him to run a good race, but I wasn’t confident,” So said.
“Those horses [Hong Lok Golf and The Boom Box] when I bought them, I expected them to be good horses – especially this one. It seems like I’ve got a couple of good ones.”