Horny Harry
19-09-2002, 14:57
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Eric Saint-Martin cruises to victory on board Boxing Day as Michael Cahill struggles to bring home Well Express after losing his nearside iron. Picture by Wan Kam-yan
ALAN AITKEN
Australian jockey Michael Cahill was left lamenting what might have been at Happy Valley last night after a spectacular attempt to wrest an improbable victory from a freak accident on Well Express. Still looking to get off the mark for the new season, Cahill lost his nearside iron and all control on Well Express soon after the start of the fifth race and cleared out many lengths in front of the field on the speedster.
''It happened about 30 metres after the start and the stirrup leather pulled out of the saddle,'' Cahill said ruefully. ''It has never happened to me before and it's almost a one in a million chance but I have heard of it happening. Usually the jockeys take the other foot out of the stirrups as well and retire the horse from the race, but when Well Express had jumped so easily to the front I didn't want to do that - I still thought he might win. "
The six-year-old gelding took Cahill on a wild ride in the lead, giving himself an impossible task to hang on in the final stages when he was tackled by Eric Saint-Martin's mount, Boxing Day. ''It's a real shame - he would have won for sure. I wanted to lead but I couldn't hold him together and he just burned up in the middle of the race,'' Cahill said.
BOXING DAY
Saint-Martin and trainer Eddie Lo had a much happier ending to their story as Boxing Day put together his third win in recent times after striking form in the second half of last season. While Howard Cheng had been the gelding's usual rider, trainer Lo explained that he had gone for the wider experience of the French jockey.
''Howard has ridden the horse very well and I have no worries with him, but tonight was Boxing Day's first run in Class Four and, more importantly, his first run at Happy Valley,'' Lo explained. ''This can be a tricky track first up and you don't know how a horse will react, so I went the safer option with Eric. "
PACKING ANGEL
Ho notched a double himself with Kingdom Of Gold winning later in the night, but he was excited about the prospects of Packing Angel, the half-brother to Billion Delight and Millennium Spirit. ''He is by Zabeel and still a big baby,'' Ho said. ''He didn't win by far tonight but the second horse, Plenty Of Surprise, is a good horse himself. The important thing tonight was that Douglas made sure Packing Angel had plenty of room, which he appreciates. I know the Zabeel horses well and there is a lot of improvement yet ... as he matures and gets over 1,800 metres to 2,000 metres, he is going to be a good horse. "
EASY KING
In the second, trainer Derek Cruz was able to finally get Easy King (Glyn Schofield) home a winner as the injury-troubled gelding gave owner Chan Yuk-shun his first win. ''That's his first win and he deserves it because he has been so patient,'' Cruz said. With the Happy Valley track drying out to good last night despite 587mm of rain in the past seven days, Easy King's prospects improved sharply. ''There's no doubt he is a better horse on firmer ground so that good weather today was in his favour,'' Cruz said. ''He seems to have come back well this season and now that he has one, maybe he can win another. "
DANRIVA
John Size-trained Danriva (Shane Dye) managed to put the lie to his last run returning to the Valley's softer surface in the seventh. At his previous run, Dye had reported the horse had not felt comfortable underneath him in his failure at Sha Tin.
However, the gelding had since been passed in a vet test and obviously preferred the jar out of the ground at Happy Valley where he has recorded three of his four wins, with the other on a slow track at Sha Tin.
And another trainer to get off the mark for the term was Peter Ng Bik-kuen, who won with debutant Honour Supreme (Henry Tsang) in race three.
KASHMAC
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French rider, Eric Legrix was the beneficiary last night as Gerald Mosse jumped off a last-start winner and his countryman racked up a handy double. Legrix caused a boilover in the first on Kashmac for David Oughton, then managed to pick up the winning mount of Peter Ho-trained Kingdom of Gold in the sixth after the trainer had been left without a jockey.
Mosse had ridden Kingdom Of Gold at his prior winning start but elected to switch to Manfred Man Ka-leung-trained Dancing Sound last night ironically, a Ho-trained horse until late last season. ''Well, that's the way it goes for everybody sometimes,'' Legrix (pictured, on Kashmac) said.
''Firstly, you cannot ride two horses in the race and then you have to make a choice. Tonight I got the best of it but sometime I will have to pick and maybe it won't work out quite so well.
''But I am happy. A double is good it is very competitive to get on good chances this season and two wins is very pleasing. I was very happy for David, his first of the season, and I have ridden for Kashmac's owner many times going back to when he had horses with Patrick Biancone so that was very satisfying. And I always do ride a bit for Peter so it was good to win for him, too.'' Ho said he had asked a number of riders, including Mosse and Douglas Whyte, to partner Kingdom Of Gold without a positive response. ''He is a last start winner and that was over his wrong distance, but he went very well. I thought they would want to ride him in a race at his right distance, 1,800 metres, tonight but I was surprised,'' he said.
Oughton brought up his first win this season with Kashmac and conceded the horse has disappointed, with a form line of 26 starts without a victory before last night. ''On his form two years ago, you'd expect him to win like that in Class Five,'' Oughton said. ''But last year he had ulcers, he had tumours you name it, he had it. He was a very sick horse and his form reflected that. Actually, we did think of retiring him during the summer. But I guess he has earned his reprieve now. "
Eric Saint-Martin cruises to victory on board Boxing Day as Michael Cahill struggles to bring home Well Express after losing his nearside iron. Picture by Wan Kam-yan
ALAN AITKEN
Australian jockey Michael Cahill was left lamenting what might have been at Happy Valley last night after a spectacular attempt to wrest an improbable victory from a freak accident on Well Express. Still looking to get off the mark for the new season, Cahill lost his nearside iron and all control on Well Express soon after the start of the fifth race and cleared out many lengths in front of the field on the speedster.
''It happened about 30 metres after the start and the stirrup leather pulled out of the saddle,'' Cahill said ruefully. ''It has never happened to me before and it's almost a one in a million chance but I have heard of it happening. Usually the jockeys take the other foot out of the stirrups as well and retire the horse from the race, but when Well Express had jumped so easily to the front I didn't want to do that - I still thought he might win. "
The six-year-old gelding took Cahill on a wild ride in the lead, giving himself an impossible task to hang on in the final stages when he was tackled by Eric Saint-Martin's mount, Boxing Day. ''It's a real shame - he would have won for sure. I wanted to lead but I couldn't hold him together and he just burned up in the middle of the race,'' Cahill said.
BOXING DAY
Saint-Martin and trainer Eddie Lo had a much happier ending to their story as Boxing Day put together his third win in recent times after striking form in the second half of last season. While Howard Cheng had been the gelding's usual rider, trainer Lo explained that he had gone for the wider experience of the French jockey.
''Howard has ridden the horse very well and I have no worries with him, but tonight was Boxing Day's first run in Class Four and, more importantly, his first run at Happy Valley,'' Lo explained. ''This can be a tricky track first up and you don't know how a horse will react, so I went the safer option with Eric. "
PACKING ANGEL
Ho notched a double himself with Kingdom Of Gold winning later in the night, but he was excited about the prospects of Packing Angel, the half-brother to Billion Delight and Millennium Spirit. ''He is by Zabeel and still a big baby,'' Ho said. ''He didn't win by far tonight but the second horse, Plenty Of Surprise, is a good horse himself. The important thing tonight was that Douglas made sure Packing Angel had plenty of room, which he appreciates. I know the Zabeel horses well and there is a lot of improvement yet ... as he matures and gets over 1,800 metres to 2,000 metres, he is going to be a good horse. "
EASY KING
In the second, trainer Derek Cruz was able to finally get Easy King (Glyn Schofield) home a winner as the injury-troubled gelding gave owner Chan Yuk-shun his first win. ''That's his first win and he deserves it because he has been so patient,'' Cruz said. With the Happy Valley track drying out to good last night despite 587mm of rain in the past seven days, Easy King's prospects improved sharply. ''There's no doubt he is a better horse on firmer ground so that good weather today was in his favour,'' Cruz said. ''He seems to have come back well this season and now that he has one, maybe he can win another. "
DANRIVA
John Size-trained Danriva (Shane Dye) managed to put the lie to his last run returning to the Valley's softer surface in the seventh. At his previous run, Dye had reported the horse had not felt comfortable underneath him in his failure at Sha Tin.
However, the gelding had since been passed in a vet test and obviously preferred the jar out of the ground at Happy Valley where he has recorded three of his four wins, with the other on a slow track at Sha Tin.
And another trainer to get off the mark for the term was Peter Ng Bik-kuen, who won with debutant Honour Supreme (Henry Tsang) in race three.
KASHMAC
http://racing.scmp.com/english/images/news/cent19092002.jpg
French rider, Eric Legrix was the beneficiary last night as Gerald Mosse jumped off a last-start winner and his countryman racked up a handy double. Legrix caused a boilover in the first on Kashmac for David Oughton, then managed to pick up the winning mount of Peter Ho-trained Kingdom of Gold in the sixth after the trainer had been left without a jockey.
Mosse had ridden Kingdom Of Gold at his prior winning start but elected to switch to Manfred Man Ka-leung-trained Dancing Sound last night ironically, a Ho-trained horse until late last season. ''Well, that's the way it goes for everybody sometimes,'' Legrix (pictured, on Kashmac) said.
''Firstly, you cannot ride two horses in the race and then you have to make a choice. Tonight I got the best of it but sometime I will have to pick and maybe it won't work out quite so well.
''But I am happy. A double is good it is very competitive to get on good chances this season and two wins is very pleasing. I was very happy for David, his first of the season, and I have ridden for Kashmac's owner many times going back to when he had horses with Patrick Biancone so that was very satisfying. And I always do ride a bit for Peter so it was good to win for him, too.'' Ho said he had asked a number of riders, including Mosse and Douglas Whyte, to partner Kingdom Of Gold without a positive response. ''He is a last start winner and that was over his wrong distance, but he went very well. I thought they would want to ride him in a race at his right distance, 1,800 metres, tonight but I was surprised,'' he said.
Oughton brought up his first win this season with Kashmac and conceded the horse has disappointed, with a form line of 26 starts without a victory before last night. ''On his form two years ago, you'd expect him to win like that in Class Five,'' Oughton said. ''But last year he had ulcers, he had tumours you name it, he had it. He was a very sick horse and his form reflected that. Actually, we did think of retiring him during the summer. But I guess he has earned his reprieve now. "