Matthew Chadwick sends punters reeling on his way to a 3,477-1 Happy Valley treble
Matthew Chadwick sent punters reeling with success aboard $62 chance Young Victory on his way to a 3,477-1 treble at Happy Valley on Wednesday night.
Chadwick completed a massive few days with his midweek haul, adding the victories of Kowloon East Star ($5.65), Young Victory and Pegasus General ($9.85) to his double at Sha Tin on Sunday to move to 25 wins for the season.
The reigning Tony Cruz Award winner as leading local jockey, Chadwick has really kicked his season into gear for the first time since his return in early February from an eight-week absence because of a fractured ankle.
“The horses have been running well. I’m happy with the way things went tonight. I had those leg injuries and after I came back and I was feeling good, I had an accident at the trials where I hurt my shoulder,” Chadwick said.
“That put me on the back foot again so it just hasn’t been smooth this season, but things worked out tonight and hopefully I can keep running the same way and keep going forward.”
It was not only Chadwick booting home outsiders, with Lyle Hewitson controlling the second section of the Class Four Canal Handicap (1,650m) from the front aboard Douglas Whyte-trained $17 chance King Of The Court.
“It was always the intention from gate 12 to go forward with a light weight and it worked out beautifully,” Whyte said of his five-year-old, who was racing over further than 1,400m for the first time at start 13.
“He stayed five or six wide and by the time they went past the winning post, he crossed for free. The horse got cheap sectionals and he quickened up well. It was a bit of a gamble running him over 1,650m for the first time, but he’s indicated he wants longer.
“He’s been a bit unlucky over the sprints. He just hasn’t got the tempo to suit, and he hasn’t got the turn of foot in the 1,200m. It showed it was the right decision to step him up.”
After slipping six wins behind premiership leader John Size after only three victories in February, reigning champion trainer Frankie Lor Fu-chuen notched a winner for the second consecutive meeting thanks to the victory of Super Vince in the Class Four Craigengower Cricket Club Challenge Cup (1,200m).
“He had an outside draw the last few times, but this time he drew a little bit better and he jumped better as well. He could just follow the leader and it was easier this time,” Lor said of Super Vince, who broke his Hong Kong maiden at start seven.
“I hope things will pick up. Last season, I had a lot of winners, so it’ll depend a lot on the new horses.”
Dynamic duo Vincent Ho Chak-yiu and Francis Lui Kin-wai got busy late on the card, combining for a running double in races seven and eight thanks to the victories of Brave Star and Gold Gold Baby.
Gold Gold Baby continued a simply brilliant season with victory in the second section of the Class Three Russell Handicap (1,200m), racking up his fifth win at start seven for the campaign in a run that has seen the five-year-old lift his rating from 38 to somewhere in the mid-70s.
Ho and Lui also teamed up with the favourite in the evening’s ninth and final event, but they had to settle for third with Rock Ya Heart in a Class Two Wong Nai Chung Handicap (1,000m) won by the Danny Shum Chap-shing-trained Handsome Bo Bo under Hugh Bowman.
