Douglas Whyte dominated Happy Valley with a treble on Wednesday night, highlighted by Giant Ballon who secured a hat-trick in the Class Three Busan Handicap (1,200m).

Gameplayer Elite and Find My Love completed a three-timer for the trainer, who only sent out a handful of runners at the city circuit.

“We’ve only had five runners and three winners – it’s been a great night. The Valley has always been a special place for me, more so as a trainer than as a jockey. It’s vibrant, tactical and leaves no room for error,” Whyte said.

“[The close finishes] make it extra sweet – I probably won’t sleep tonight! It makes it more special.”

Giant Ballon continued his winning ways with immediate success in Class Three company thanks to a gutsy all-the-way win after jumping as the $2.7 favourite.

Showing his customary gate speed, he received pressure from Happy Index who worked forward from his wide draw to join the favourite up front. The Mehmas galloper kicked away with Zac Purton aboard at the top of the straight to set up a winning lead and hold off the fast-finishing Flying Wrote by a head.

“He really got softened up at the 800m – Hugh Bowman [on Happy Index] really stuck it to him and Zac had to make a decision as to whether to hold the lead or give it up,” Whyte said.

“He clearly decided to hold the lead and he did get softened up, but that’s his toughest win. He didn’t have circumstances go his way but he still turned for home and sprinted two or three lengths clear very quickly and was vulnerable, but Zac said although he was vulnerable, he still managed to show some tenacity and hold on.

“He’s gone up 19 rating points in two races, so he was always going to be vulnerable and had to lift his game tonight, which he did.”

Gameplayer Elite continued his strong run of recent form when winning the Class Four Korea Racing Authority Trophy (1,200m).

Jumping from barrier one, Harry Bentley sat handy on the rail with a fast pace being set by the leader Superb King. The grey son of Kentuckian was able to reel in the front runner inside the final 100m to make it two wins from his last three starts.

Find My Love stormed home with a superb burst down the straight in the first section of the Class Four Yeongcheon Handicap (1,200m) with Hugh Bowman in the saddle to win for the first time this season.

“He wants 1,400m but he also doesn’t – he’s in between distances. I think the cut in the ground and the barrier draw certainly served it up to him,” Whyte said.

“He’s dour and he’s honest. He’s on a good and competitive rating, so there was a lot in his favour tonight.”

Elsewhere at the Valley, David Hayes also clinched a running double in the opening two races courtesy of Honest Witness and Dashing Maurison.

Honest Witness put back-to-back wins together over the track and trip with a dominant front-running display in the third section of the Class Four Yeongcheon Handicap (1,200m), scoring by four and three-quarter lengths over Golden Friendship with Purton in the saddle.

“He’s taken a while to find his legs in Hong Kong. He’s been consistent without winning, but we found the key; Happy Valley, go forward. He’s dominated the race and that was by far his best performance,” Hayes said.

“We know he goes on a bit of wet, and we’ll definitely get a bit more wet for the rest of the season and in a similar Class Three race, he might be competitive.

“I thought it was a pretty weak race. So I would have been disappointed if he didn’t win – but I didn’t think he’d win that easy.”

Purton went on to ride treble thanks to the Mark Newnham-trained Armor Golden Eagle in the final race of the night, taking him within 14 wins of 2,000 Hong Kong triumphs.

Dashing Maurison was the first leg of a double for Harry Bentley in the Class Five Daejeon Handicap (1,800m) after settling in the lead and putting a gap on the field down the straight to strike by two and a half lengths over Splendid Force.

“With the blinkers first time, if he jumped well, I told Harry to put him in the race. I really felt this horse, if he concentrated, would be too good for the horses in Class Five,” Hayes said.

“He definitely went through [the soft ground], so if it rains in the back part of the season it’ll be good for us. I think he’s probably got another win in him this season.”

Super Goldendragon scored the biggest upset of the season at $88.8 in the Class Four Daegu Handicap (2,200m) at his first stepping out over the trip.

The son of Kitten’s Joy was given a perfectly placed ride by Derek Leung Ka-chun, tracking the pace from barrier six without doing any early work before settling midfield and being saved until the home straight to emerge as the winner.

“It was a surprise. On his pedigree, he’s a long-distance horse and he’s an ISG, so he needs a bit more time to mature,” trainer Cody Mo Wai-kit said.

“The track also helped and I used the one-side blinkers because in his last run at Sha Tin, he hung in very badly. After we used them in his last race, he was better.”

Matthew Chadwick was able to secure a victory after a run of 159 outs with a perfectly-rated ride on Another Zonda in the Class Four Incheon Handicap (1,650m) for Me Tsui Yu-sak.

Crossing from barrier seven with Mighty Steed to the outside, Chadwick took the pace out of the race and was able to find plenty in the straight to hold off Mighty Steed and late-closer Never Too Soon to record his third Hong Kong win by a short head.

“It was a good performance and he ran to his form. He went pretty hard, considering the track and at the 500m, I just made the decision to go and get them off the bit and if it worked, it did and if it didn’t it – this time it did work,” Chadwick said.

“It’s just been a perfect storm since December. The horses that I have been riding weren’t at their rating and just needed time to come back down. Young horses weren’t ready, some other horses had to be helped with re-education or retired – it’s just been normal Hong Kong, really.

“Unfortunately, it just took longer than we would have liked it to.”

Meanwhile, a pair of Japanese Group Two winners have been entered for May’s Group One Champions and Chater Cup (2,400m) – Deep Monster, trained by Yasutoshi Ikee and the globetrotter Rousham Park, trained by Hiroyasu Tanaka, who ran fifth in December’s Group One Hong Kong Cup (2,000m).

Comments