Danny Shum Chap-shing dominated Happy Valley with a treble that saw him take the lead in the trainers’ championship as he looks to claim the title for the first time.

The multiple Group One-winning trainer moved up to 54 wins, two above Mark Newnham, when Romantic Gladiator, General Redwood and Leading Agility scored at the city circuit.

Shum is focused on his horses first and foremost, and it is this dedication that has seen them perform consistently throughout the season.

“I will try my best for the championship, but the main thing for me is the horses. I won’t push them any harder just to win it, their health and happiness is the main priority for me,” Shum said.

Romantic Gladiator secured his first win in Hong Kong at just his fifth start when taking out the Class Three French May Trophy (1,650m), after putting together a pair of back-to-back wins for a perfect strike rate in Great Britain pre-import.

The son of Ten Sovereigns gave Zac Purton the first leg of a double, taking the eight-time champion jockey within eight wins of a record 2,000 Hong Kong victories.

Purton used barrier one perfectly to settle in behind the leader and after racing slightly keenly through the middle stages, the duo didn’t cover any extra ground and went on to win by three quarters of a length over Fivefortwo.

“He’s done a good job as a lightly-raced three-year-old to settle in here as he has,” Purton said.

“Obviously he had a light weight, barrier one and a perfect run tonight, so everything was there for him to get the victory tonight, if he could.

“But he still has a bit to do, he was a bit aggressive in the run and he’s still learning – he has to relax a bit better.”

Shum believes there is plenty of improvement to come and is looking forward to seeing how the promising type progresses next season.

“He’s only three years old. He can handle Happy Valley very well, I’m very happy with that,” Shum said.

“He still pulls, he needs to learn to relax a little bit more. He holds his breath, so he needs to learn a little bit more to relax himself. He will be more successful next season.”

General Redwood recorded his second victory from his last three starts in the first section of the Class Four Saint-Cloud Handicap (1,650m) with Angus Chung Yik-lai aboard.

The son of Redwood put a luckless last-start performance behind him when the saddle shifted and slotted in one-off from gate 12 after the race developed into a three-way speed battle in front, setting up perfectly for a swooper.

A super steer by Chung saw the four-year-old surge through the centre to nab a quickly improving Dashing Maurison at the post by a nose.

“Last time he settled a bit sleepy, which made it difficult. He had a bad draw tonight, but I saw there was lots of speed in the race so I just said to Angus to try to settle well and get into the race. He rode very well,” Shum said.

Leading Agility recorded his first Hong Kong victory at start number six in the first section of the Class Four Chantilly Handicap (1,200m) under Lyle Hewitson. After beginning well, he was able to kick through one-off around the first bend, sitting outside Winning Now and keeping Golden Empire wide.

Taking over in the straight, he showed he’s still learning what racing is all about when laying in at the 200m, but despite his greenness he raced clear to win comprehensively by one and a half lengths over Amazing Victory.

Purton maintained his 100 per cent strike rate on The Azure when winning his fourth race on the Frankie Lor Fu-chuen-trained galloper.

The son of Wrote benefited from a classic Purton ride that saw him come from last to take inside runs and finish too strongly, beating Take Action by a neck in a race that developed into a finish of many chances in the shadows of the post.

“I had no choice from [barrier eight] but to go back, he travelled like a winner all the way,” Purton said.

“When I started to come through, he started to think about it a little bit but when he found a bit more clear room, he knuckled down nicely.”

Lor was thrilled to have the services of Purton, who remains the only jockey to have won on the five-year-old.

“The horse dropped a lot in weight already, and I asked Zac if he was free to ride for me – [the horse] is going good. And then when the entries came out, he said ‘I’m free’,” Lor said.

“This time I put the cheek pieces on him. It looked like he was a little bit better. Only Zac can win on this horse for me, he’s got four wins when he’s ridden this horse.”

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