Caspar Fownes-trained sprinter Accepted has put the writing on the wall in his first two local starts and with an advantageous draw on the straight course he stands out as banker in the final leg of a jackpot-bolstered Triple Trio (on Saturday) at Sha Tin.
Accepted arrived with some nice black type form out of Ireland and England and it hasn’t taken long for the three-year-old to acclimatise with two good solid outings up the same Sha Tin straight course he comes back to in a competitive Class Three.
On his local debut Accepted might have thought he was back at home in a race held in atrocious conditions.
Drawing 10 and closer to the outside rail didn’t make much difference that day either for Accepted, who ended up racing four horses off the fence anyway and did a good job to finish second to Tango Fire, who had stuck to the rail throughout.
Last start Accepted did it tough from gate four, sitting deepest without cover in the worst part of the track, but finishing strongly for fourth.
This time Accepted (Zac Purton) has come up with barrier 12 of 14, from where he should get the opportunity to sit in the best ground and get there without having to work for it.
Accepted has top weight and there are a few below him in the ratings that will fancy their chances of toppling the likely favourite.
Another European-bred sprinter, David Hall-trained Good Luck Boy (Brett Prebble) has gone up six ratings points for a last start win in crazy conditions, his second victory for the season, but looks like he still has some upside.
Midnight Rattler isn’t your typical John Moore newcomer, in that he cost just A$5,000 (HK$30,000) as a yearling, but he comes through an impressive enough win on the New South Wales provincial circuit for the trainer’s brother Gary and looked good in his solitary trial. The question for him, having not raced since February, is whether six weeks worth of work and just one trial with Moore is enough to have the near-black three-year-old ready to fire first-up, or whether this start is a championship-motivated rush job.
Of the others, Sight Believer (Joao Moreira) has drawn 14 and will sit in the right spot in behind the pacesetters. Fay Deep (Derek Leung Ka-chun) finished last in the “storm race” won by Good Luck Boy, but he was knocked around and was out of contention early so it might pay to forgive him for that.
Benno Yung Tin-pang brings Thor The Greatest (Gerald Mosse) to the straight track for the first time this season and he could be a sneaky place hope.
Close to HK$8 million is already in the TT pool, but it looks as though race programmers are keen for that to jackpot again building towards the last few meetings of the season, selecting an incredibly difficult dirt contest to open it up in the first leg.
Take John Size-trained Modern Fortune (Moreira), who was only narrowly edged out when coming back to what seems his best distance of 1,200m last start. The big difference here for Modern Fortune is gate 12, with most of his better performances coming from a low draw.
The horse that beat him, Andreas Schutz-trained Trillion Treasure (Jack Wong Ho-nam), is looking for his sixth win of the season, a feat that seems beyond a horse with limited ability, but he is fit and obviously in form, so must go in.
From there take King Of Household (Whyte), Horse Supremo (Alex Lai Hoi-wing) and give Glorious Avenue (Mosse) another chance after scoping with blood in his trachea last start.
In the middle leg, a Class Four over 1,600m, take Heroic Guru (Moreira) as banker, but expect Born To Win to give a good sight with Wong’s 10-pound claim and front-running tactics likely to be employed. Include Unique Joyful (Keith Yeung Ming-lun), Money Cafe (Purton) and Triumphant Dragon (Mosse). Keep a close watch on Electronic Phoenix (Teetan), who could be on the improve.
– scmp.com
