By Wally Pyrah
TAKE a chance that legendry Australian Hall of Fame trainer David Hayes continues his run of good fortune with KING’S CAPITAL in the feature race of the meeting, the Hong Kong Country Club Challenge Cup Handicap (2.15pm) over the extended mile.
The former Melbourne Cup-winning trainer has started the current campaign on fire, with seven winners from just 37 runners, leaving him joint-top of the trainers’ leaderboard alongside Tony Cruz.
While King’s Capital certainly doesn’t jump out of the formbook as a potential winner, having finished 11th of 14 on his seasonal run over seven furlongs at Sha Tin early last month, there are reasons to believe he has been ear-marked for this contest.
His long odds suggested he wasn’t expected to figure in the finish at Sha Tin, and somewhat predictably he got outpaced turning into the home straight before then finishing strongly in the closing stages to be beaten just under four lengths.
Having won from a similar handicap mark at Happy Valley last season, and with the eye-catching booking of Zac Purton in the saddle, the omens are looking good.
Purton, who rode the son of Animal Kingdom to victory on his reappearance run at Sha Tin last season, picks his rides carefully when riding for Hayes.
His record shows he has ridden five winners from just 11 rides for the stable in the last month, with the latest aboard Oriental Smoke at Sha Tin last Saturday.
This looks a highly competitive handicap on paper, with the likes of front-running Savvy Kingman, Master Hero, and Nimble Nimbus in the field.
King’s Capital, however, is capable of proving too strong for his rivals and should be seen dashing home strongly in the closing stages.
POINTERS
King’s Capital 2.15pm Happy Valley
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