Conceding Hava Nageela was unprepared for a Hong Kong Derby tilt in March because of form and maturity, Frankie Lor believes the talented four-year-old could still rise to stellar levels next season after victory at Sha Tin's all-dirt meeting on Wednesday night.
Lor abandoned Classic plans with the Aclaim gelding when he failed to win any of his first five starts in Hong Kong, but his effort since switching back to dirt and snaring three victories in a row has left Lor to ponder what the future might now hold.
“I was looking for the Derby but, at the time, his rating was a bit low,” Lor explained. “If we had more time with the horse or he had come to Hong Kong a bit earlier, he might have performed better.
“Now if he keeps improving, we can look at another big race for him next season. He seems to really like the dirt but, looking at the programme, we will probably have to go back to the turf. He's run second on that here, so it should be okay.”
Collecting a HK$1 million PP Top-Up Bonus, Hava Nageela has been a revelation since reverting to the dirt and handled the rise to Class 2 under Silvestre de Sousa with aplomb.
Jimmy Ting took training honours on the card, slotting only the third treble of his training career, scoring with Smokey Bear, Lucky Victor and Imperial Magee to take his season's tally to 21 wins.
“This season is just so-so, I hope that later will be better. This is the best meeting of the season for me. Hopefully I can still have some more wins,” Ting said, celebrating his first three-timer since December, 2020.
Into his third season of Hong Kong racing, Smokey Bear belatedly broke through under Zac Purton from barrier 10. A three-time winner for Roger Charlton in England, the Kodiac six-year-old had dropped from 78 to 59 in the handicaps after 11 unsuccessful starts until tonight's success.
Lucky Victor – beaten more than 20 lengths at his previous start from an outside gate – led virtually throughout under Angus Chung.
Jumping from barrier one tonight, Lucky Victor posted his third win over the course and distance having been freshened at Conghua.
“Smokey Bear, I thought the draw was too bad but he'd won in England on the Polytrack, so I thought he could handle the dirt here,” Ting said. “Lucky Victor wasn't happy earlier in the season, so I went back to Conghua with him and let him go to the paddock and freshen him up. He got a good draw and that's why he won.”
Imperial Magee gave Ting the final leg of his three-timer with a searing finish under Harry Bentley.
“This horse is suitable on the dirt and he's showed that in the trackwork, so that's why I tried him on the dirt,” Ting said of the former Brazilian, who scored three wins in South America before export to Hong Kong.
Ting's feat was matched by Purton, who slotted his own treble with Smokey Bear, David Hall's Gallant Hero and Benno Yung's Gummy Gummy to extend his lead in the Hong Kong jockeys' championship to 60 wins.
With 132 wins, Purton has 19 meetings left to continue his assault on Joao Moreira's record of 170 wins in a Hong Kong season.
John Size's quest for a record 12th Hong Kong trainers' championship gathered more momentum with Erimo's four-length blitz for Alexis Badel. Seeking to break the tie he shares with fellow 11-time champion trainer George Moore, Size has 60 wins for the term to lead nearest rival Frankie Lor by 10 victories.
David Hall registered his stable's 30th victory of the campaign when Purton guided Gallant Hero to a tough win before Gummy Gummy collected a HK$1 million PP Bonus for success in the Class 3 Eagle's Nest Handicap.
“We decided to take the chance and run him on the dirt over 1800m, we came up with barrier one and he's progressing – he's put up quite a few good performances earlier in the season to suggest he could win in Class 4. I think he can keep on improving,” Hall said.
Michael Chang registered his 15th victory of the season when Smart Folks triumphed under Antoine Hamelin.
“I think this horse can win in Class 4,” Chang said. “He's still improving.”
By War Front, Smart Folks (133lb) slotted his second win for the season after prevailing on Sha Tin's Turf on 24 January.
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