Four meetings into the new season and the Hong Kong leader boards have yet to take real shape, with German Andreas Schutz a surprising leader of the trainers’ table.
Surprising as John Moore and John Size, who fought out last season’s title have yet to have a winner, while Schutz has only had 8 runners for four wins after he trained only 40 winners in the last three full seasons.
If Schutz doesn’t get 15 wins this season, his licence is unlikely to be renewed. He is still in trouble unless his early season success attracts more owners as he only has 29 horses currently on his stable list but he has kicked off the right way. He has four runners on Saturday with his best first-up winner Magical Beam and the former Sydney galloper, Masquerader, still looking for his first Hong Kong win after three and a half years but his recent runs have been encouraging.
Size looks ready to wake up the scorer on Saturday with his five runners including exciting four-year-olds Amazing Kids, Happy Surveys and So Fast, all returning for what should be successful campaigns.
Douglas Whyte sitting at the top of the jockeys’ championship over Joao Moreira isn’t turning the form book upside down but seeing inexperienced apprentice Jack Wong in third and already on four wins wouldn’t have been forecast, while top jockey Zac Purton has yet to have a ride after his injury before the first meeting.
Purton was reportedly offered the mount on George Main Stakes favourite Kermadec on Saturday in Sydney but was unable to take it as Hong Kong races on the same day, and with only four rides at Sha Tin and nothing particularly special amongst them he is probably wishing the usual Sunday programming had applied. Lucky Double Eight and Sky Man look his winning hopes.
By Nathan Mody
