RACING.
KING KONG
THE CHINA MAIL, MAY 26, 1989.
FAVOURED
FOR WHITSUN HANDICAP But Marksman Will Be Worth Watching
King's Privilege And Sports Venture For "Daily Double"
(By "RAPIER')
The Fifth Extra Race Meeting to be held to-morrow will mark the penultimate stage of racing for the first half of the racing season under the auspices of Hong Kong Jockey Club.
teresting tussle should ensue, with the likely winner coming from one of the following:-
Conquering Time (Mr. Needa) Eve of Harvest (Mr. Hearne). Hectic View (Mr. Pih) 1 Jennifer (Mr. Proulx)
Rob Roy (Mr. Encarnacao).
the
about the best record to date. Carry- My fancy is Hectic View, as it has *ing 168 lbs., it came in second to Eng- lish Cavalier in the Mount Gough Han. dicap over 1 miles, in addition to which this pony won
Mirs Bay Stakes over six furlongs in the splen- did time of 1.26 2/5, carrying 148 lbs., at the second Extra meeting, and then went on to win the Fatshan Handicap, carrying 168 lbs., in 1.29 1/5.
The Meeting continues on Mon- day, and the starting bell will be rung at 1.30 p.m. to-morrow and 12.00 noon, on Monday, when the tiffin interval will be after the second race.
There are 19 events to be decided, and provided the grass track re- covers in good time from the effects of the rain, there should be two days of grand racing.
RACE NO. 1: THE BONDI
HANDICAP: ONE MILE.
The opening race to-morrow will be confined to Australian ponies of any season, ponies classified "A" that have won two or more races since January 1, 1939, are barred.
This means that such stalwarts as Lucky Lad and Lancashire Chips will have to rest, but Courting Eve having won only one race, the Brisbane Spring Handicap, is provided with an oppor- tunity of scoring its second win of the first half of this year.
Courting Eve will be carrying top weight of 165 lbs., but this should not prevent it from winning again. It will be remembered that last June, carry- ing the same weight, this pony smash- ed the record for the six furlongs dis. tance, which until then had been held by Lancashire Chips.
160
Criffel (Mr. Needa), carrying lbs., won the Charters Towers Handi- cap over the two mile post distance, and, although it has come down by 10 lbs., I don't think it can cause an upset. Snowy River came in third to Court- ing Eve at the previous meeting, and it has come down in weight by 3 lbs., thus receiving an allowance of 11 lbs. from Courting Eve.
In my opinion, Snowy River is the only pony here capable of giving Court- ing Eve a fight. There is also Trium- phant Day to be reckoned with, how- ever, and if it can reproduce the form which won it the Broken Hill Handicap over the two mile post at the third Extra meeting, carrying top weight of 165 lbs., Courting Eve will have to look out.
However, I feel confident that the latter pony will win, with Snowy River second, leaving Criffel and Triumphant Day to fight it out for third position.
RACE NO. 2: LEAD MINE HANDICAP: SIX FURLONGS. (FIRST SECTION) In this, the first section of the race for "B" Class China ponies, a most in-
To-morrow it will be carrying 144 lbs, and for that reason, I think it is the best choice for a win. does not win, it should give Hectic Jennifer is also very fast, and if it View a good fight.
Eve of Harvest has come down by three lbs. since winning the St. George's Plate, but I doubt whether it is fast enough over this sprint distance. It is also liable to start badly, as it did previously.
MR. H. C. PIH is favoured to win the Lead Mine Handicap (First Section) on Hectic View to-morrow.
RACE NO. 4: SHATIN HANDICAP: SIX FURLONGS
(FIRST SECTION)
This is another sprint affair, featur- ponies. Advancing Time won the Tai- ing the first lot of "D" Class China
moshan Handicap over the mile at the last meeting quite convincingly, and. for that reason, will be carrying 168 lbs.
With novice rider Mr. Ho Hong-ping on top, it will be given an allowance of 5 lbs. but even then I doubt if it will be able to repeat its previous suc- cess.
Conquering Time should be well sup- ported, and if allowed to take a big lead, it will prove dangerous. Not- Ebony Idol was second in the same withstanding the above, I have a strong race, and as it is more of a sprinter. feeling that Humdrum Eve may spring the distance being only six furlongs, I a surprise, provided the mount is given think it will have to be seriously con- to a jockey capable of holding it until sidered. the right moment.
My selections are: Hectic View to win, Jennifer second, and Eve of Har- vest or Humdrum Eve third.
RACE NO. 3: WHITSUN HANDICAP: ONE MILE
This may be regarded as the most important event of the day, with prob- ably only four starters:-
Celtic Star (Mr. Tao) King Kong (Mr. Raymond) Marksman (Mr. Needa) Musketeer (Mr. Encarnacao) These ponies represent the best among this year's subscription grif- fins, and I shall not be surprised to see the race fought out over the last quarter.
In view of its fine wins previously, Marksman will undoubtedly command the most support, in spite of its heavy burden of 168 lbs. It has won races before whilst carrying 165 lbs.
I expect Musketeer to mako an effort to run away with the race and, if not overhauled In good time, it may spring a surprise.
Celtic Star may be too slow over the initial stage, thus leaving King Kong and Marksman to challenge Musketeer.
Should Marksman get to within striking distance after coming into the straight, I expect it to win, but King Kong is fighting fit at the moment and if it does not keep too far back, it will provide a strong challenge.
Taking all things into consideration, I nominate King Kong to win, with Marksman second and Celtic Star third.
YOU'LL SING TOO,
WHEN YOU USE MENNEN BRUSHLESS
IT'S A CREAM
NOT A GREASE
* NO GREASE — NO MESS - NO RAZOR CIOG
Night View dead-heated with Ebony Idol, but carrying 168 lbs. may have its effect,
If ridden by Mr. Needa, Sylvandale, despite the heavy burden of 166 lbs.. should have something to say at the finish, and there is also Double Chance to be considered. I feel that the re- sult will be most open, with Ebony Idol as the probable winner, leaving Night View, Dekko and Sylvandale to decide the other two places.
RACE NO. 5: SPENCER HANDICAP: ONE MILE For the first leg of the "Dally Dou- ble," an interesting problem is present ed those attempting to spot the likely winner of this race, which will be con- tested by "B" Class Australian ponies, a mixture of the old and new.
I
Vixen Tor (Mr. Proulx) will be re- quired to carry top weight of 165 lbs.. and, as the distance is against it, think it can safely be disregarded.
Derby Day (Mr. S. C. Liang), al- though a capable sprinter, will also find the distance much too long. It seems to me that Tornado Star, with Mr. Peter Wei on top, should have a good chance of scoring a win here, but there are Blandford (Mr. Poy) and King's Privilege (Mr. Needa) to be watched.
How well Happy Landing (Mr. Da- vis) and Rivulet (Mr. Pih), both of this season, will fare against the other ponies is hard to tell, but provided Rivulet is really fit again, I would re- commend it for a win.
This pony finished up lame after running in the Rooty-Hill Derby, and has not been seen in action since.
Aztec, with Mr. Raymond up, is another candidate capable of winning. I expect the finish to be fought out between Tornado Star, Aztec and 'King's Privilege, with the last-named
as my fancy.
RACE NO. 6: LEAD MINE HANDICAP: SIX FURLONGS (SECOND SECTION) Among the entries for this race, like the chances of.
•
Potentate won the Canton Handicap over the two mile post distance (sec- ond section) at the Third Extra Meet- ing, and on that account it has been penalised by 7 lbs.
As it is happier over a short dis- tance, I think it will win again.
Gladiator is dangerous, and if Oak Bay can only reproduce a glimpse of its old form, it will give both Potentate and Gladiator a great fight.
Lancashire Lass and Jober are both very fit, and either one of them is capable of causing an upset, Potentate should win, with Gladiator second and Oak Bay third.
RACE NO. 7: STONECUTTERS PLATE: HALF A MILE
Those who succeed in making the right selection in the first leg of the "Daily Double", will find a rare task ahead of them in making the proper connection in this race, which is the second Leg.
The ponies are being taken out by novice jockeys, and an upset almost invariably occurs.
The ponies to watch are:-
Bressay (Mr. Sadick)
Kut Cheung (Mr. Payne)
Gog (Mr. S. W. Lee)
Sports Venture (Mr. C. F. Chiu) Geordie (Mr. Treverton)
Gog is a pony that is constantly im- proving and at the last mesting it ran quite well, while. If Mr. Sadick succeeds in getting Bressay off quick- ly on the rise of the barrier it should have a good chance of winning.
Kut Cheung is a fast little animal, his first win at the Valley. The best and it may provide Mr. Payne with bet, however, seems to be Sports Ven-
ture.
RACE NO. 8: WARWICK FARM HANDICAP: SIX FURLONGS Australian ponies of this season that have not won a race will figure in this event, and, from the entries, it appears Baffin Bay. (Mr. Wei) is about due for a win.
This pony has been knocking at the door of success for the last two meet- ings, although for its second place to Sydney Lad it has been, penalised by 11 lbs.
The next best contender is Janber, belonging to the Marber stable, with Mr. Raymond as the jockey.
During training for the Annual Meeting, Janber met with an acci- dent which has prevented it from participating in any race. It has evidently fully recovered, and if it does not win to-morrow it might well be borne in mind for a later meeting.
King's Herald was third in the Perth Plate at the annual meeting, but I don't think it is good enough to win to-morrow, while Ruby Star has been a great disappointment, and should not do better than run third.
Ajax is coming along nicely, 80 watch it on Monday if it fails to- morrow.
I like Janber's chances of winning, with Baffin Bay second and Ruby Star third.
RACE NO 9: SHATIN HANDICAP: SIX FURLONGS (SECOND SECTION). Another sprint event will wind up the first day's programme, with the following to choose from:--
Diogenes (Mr. Black) Guinness Time (Mr. Encarnacao) Heddon (Mr. Wei) Magog (Mr. Needa) Wild Bear (Mr. Pih)
- Willynilly (Mr. Chao).. Heddon was second to Soma Hope in the "Hunchbacks" Plate, which it only just lost. I think it has a good chance of scoring its first win here.
Guinness Time was a failure in the second section of the Taimoshan Han- dicap, which was over a mile, and it is quite possible that it may redeem it- self in this race.“
Magog, with Mr. Needs up, should not be overlooked, and Wild Bear dis 1 another pony likely to do well.
Willyalify will probably be¬Mr. Chao's mount. Since winning one of the Wong-Nel-Chung Stakes, this pony (whichever one Mr. Raymond decides has not done anything of note, but it
Gladiator - (Mr. Hearné)
Jober or Lancashire Lass
take out.)
Oak
Davis)
may come off to-morrow...
'I fanay Heddon to win, with Guin- nass Time" second and Magog -third.