By Ed Culham
IT LOOKS as though the weather will once again play an important role in determining winners when racing gets under way with an eight-race programme at Sha Tin in Hong Kong on Monday.
The forecast is for rain for most of the day, with one or two thunderstorms thrown in for good measure, suggesting bettors will need plenty of guesswork to find that all-important winner.
One galloper who should relish a soft surface, if the rain does materialise, is the John Size-trained SPEEDY FORTUNE who takes his chance in the Tiu Chung Chau Handicap (1.15pm) over six furlongs.
This Australian-bred son of Pariah, who has a pedigree that includes plenty of soft ground winners, inexplicably lost all chance at the start on his most recent outing over the course and distance last month, after bounding in the air when the stalls opened.
The fact he made plenty of late headway down the home straight to be beaten only four lengths by smart recruit Packing Bole, suggests he would have at least made the frame if getting away on equal terms, and this time he gets an important jockey change.
Connections were obviously not happy about the incident at the start of that race, with poor Matthew Poon now dumped on the sidelines, and Hugh Bowman, who comes here on the back of riding a double at Sha Tin on Saturday, now takes over in the saddle.
Three-year-old Speedy Fortune had previously made all over the course and distance with Poon aboard, and won going away from the opposition in the closing stages to record his first win in a smart time in May.
That form reads well against this opposition, and, if Bowman can bounce him out from a favourable gate of five, and dictate or be up with the pace from the off, he will be difficult to beat.
Bettors may have an edge in the Grass Island Handicap (2.45pm) over six furlongs, as leading fancies Excellent Fighter and hat-trick seeking Pulsar Strider both have good form on a rain-soaked surface.
The Benno Yung-trained Pulsar Strider has been a different galloper since encountering soft conditions in the last couple of months, and holds a neck verdict over his rival Excellent Fighter on their course and distance form last month.
There should be little to choose between them at the revised weights, but looming large and dangerous is the Zac Purton-ridden MARK THE MOMENT.
This four-year-old son of popular sire Snitzel won three times on a soft or heavy surface in Australia before being shipped to Hong Kong, and looks ready to score his first win in his new homeland.
Rookie trainer Pierre Ng has been on fire over the past couple of weeks, and when he and Purton team up it’s been a recipe for success.
The partnership has an incredible 31 percent win strike-rate this season, and it is easy to see why Purton has chosen to partner this progressive gelding, having finished a length behind Excellent Fighter back in March, and now meeting that rival on eight-pound better terms.
POINTERS
Speedy Fortune 1.15pm Sha Tin
Mark The Moment 2.45pm Sha Tin
