Latest news with #LuckyWithYou
South China Morning Post
06-03-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
David Hall on weather watch as Invincible Sage steps into calmer waters
A Group One winner on a yielding surface, continued rain will play right into the five-year-old speedster's hands David Hall's certainly not getting ahead of himself but Hong Kong's midweek wet weather is enough to get the trainer a little excited ahead of Invincible Sage's run in Sunday's Class One Kowloon City Handicap (1,200m). With plenty of rain around Hong Kong on Thursday and the prospect of more to come, Invincible Sage could get the yielding conditions that allowed him to post his career-best performance when winning last April's Group One Chairman's Sprint Prize (1,200m). 'We've been here long enough to know that with Sha Tin you need to see it on the day before you get too excited, but if I'm looking at the forecast, I'm excited,' said Hall. After failing to even run a place this term as Ka Ying Rising has taken the Hong Kong sprinting ranks by storm, Invincible Sage steps outside Group company for the first time in a year. Invincible Sage takes the Chairman's Sprint Prize (G1)! — IFHA's Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings (@worldsbesthorse) April 28, 2024 The 110-rated galloper will carry 135 pounds but has gate one under Hugh Bowman in an eight-horse race featuring the likes of Lucky With You, Magic Control, Mugen and Taj Dragon. 'It's hard. He's a Group One winner but he did it in 1:09.33 and he's chasing horses now who are running 1:07.8,' said Hall. 'Unless he gets a wet track, you can't really be too tough on his performances. 'We thought we'd have a run at the handicap. With a little horse that's probably going to be difficult, but I think it's the right option for him.' Invincible Sage was one of a handful of Hong Kong entries for the Group One Al Quoz Sprint (1,200m) down the Meydan straight on April 5's Dubai World Cup night, but the five-year-old's seventh in last month's Group One Queen's Silver Jubilee Cup (1,400m) put paid to those plans. 'We put him in there and I thought if he was genuinely a chance to be very competitive we'd go, but off his last run I think without the wet ground he's probably just short of that class and I still want to have a horse left, so we made the decision to stay,' confirmed Hall. Also among Hall's eight runners this weekend is Encountered, who will be ridden by the in-form James Orman in the Class Two Carpenter Handicap (1,800m). Another galloper who recently took a step back from Group grade, Encountered could only manage eighth in a Class One over the extended Happy Valley mile last start but the return to nine furlongs at Sha Tin looks likely to suit the six-year-old. 'I've taken the blinkers off him and put the tongue tie back on. He was a bit average at Happy Valley the other day but he's put in a couple of really good runs, so hopefully he brings his best form,' Hall said. 'Once again, it's a handicap and he's up the top, so he's got to carry the weight, but he's a big horse and he's capable of doing it if he can find his form on the day.'
South China Morning Post
09-02-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Ferraris continues red-hot form with Class One victory aboard Lucky With You
South African jockey adds to recent feature haul with TVB Cup (1,200m) success by Jay Rooney on Sunday, February 9, 2025 7:36 PM Lucky With You soars home to win the TVB Cup under Luke Ferraris. Photos: Kenneth Chan Riding on the crest of a wave, Luke Ferraris booted home his third feature winner in as many meetings with a superb display on Lucky With You in Sunday's Class One TVB Cup (1,200m) at Sha Tin. The youngest jockey on Hong Kong's roster continued his incredible start to the Year of the Snake, adding to his momentum from victories on My Wish in the Classic Mile and Mr Ascendency in a Class Two at Happy Valley. Replacing the suspended Andrea Atzeni on Lucky With You, 23-year-old Ferraris saved ground along the inside rail to lift Frankie Lor Fu-chuen's consistent sprinter to his first victory since October 2023. 'The support has been fantastic and I'll be looking to keep that going and if it does, hopefully I can keep capitalising on the decent rides,' Ferraris said after boosting his seasonal tally to 26 wins. — HKJC Racing (@HKJC_Racing) February 9, 2025 Dropping in grade after running in two Group One sprints won by Ka Ying Rising, Lucky With You settled midfield from gate one and ran on strongly when Ferraris speared him along the inside rail passing the 200m. The Artie Schiller gelding ran past Magic Control at the 100m and burst clear to score by a length and a quarter. Gorgeous Win ran on strongly for second ahead of Magic Control. Raging Blizzard, the $2.1 favourite, loomed ominously down the outside but couldn't repeat the heroics of his previous two victories when running sixth of eight. 'He's a lovely, game horse,' Ferraris said of Lucky With You, who ran a pair of seconds behind Lucky Sweynesse in the Group One Hong Kong Sprint (1,200m) and Group One Centenary Sprint Cup (1,200m) last season. 'He's a real soldier. He does have a bit of a short sprint so the way the race panned out was ideal. We got behind a nice horse, Magic Control, and he pulled us through to the 250m and when he had done his job, Harmony N Blessed started to fall away. 'It worked out really nicely and he hit the gap really strongly and powered away to the line, so thanks to Frankie and his team. Hopefully we can keep rolling.' Lor, who took over training Lucky With You from David Hayes at the start of last term, was thrilled to celebrate the galloper's seventh triumph from 33 starts. 'Class One is different for him because usually he's in Group One or Group Two,' Lor said. 'He's seven years old now and it was great to get another win for the owners. Perfect ride by Luke.' Lor is in two minds about Lucky With You's next target, with another Class One 1,200m sprint on March 9 and the Group Two Sprint Cup (1,200m) on March 30 likely options. 'We'll think about the next race for him,' Lor said. 'In March there is another 1,200m for him – it's an 85-plus. If we run in that race, he might need to carry a big weight and I need to think because a big weight sometimes isn't good for an older horse.' Lucky With You's win was the highlight of an otherwise frustrating day for Lor on Sunday, with the handler notching three seconds courtesy of Master Trillion, Enjoy Golf and Dreaming Winner.
