It’s a Joao Moreira and Zac Purton-free zone at Sha Tin on Sunday and it’s just like old times for Douglas Whyte as he picks up many of the plum rides on the day.
Whyte has not gone anywhere even though Moreira and Purton are the dominant riders, with the South African netting four last weekend and then another double midweek.
He takes over from Purton on Yee Cheong Star on Sunday after the six-year-old looked a completely different horse at his first start for David Hall last time out. Returning from a year out with problems, Yee Cheong Star was a turbo-charged winner over the dirt 1,200m and will take beating again in a similar race.
Whyte also has strong claims on Asia Rising, Secret Weapon and Colossus and will hold plenty of punters’ money with Savvy Nature in the Jockey Club Community Trophy over 2,200m.
Horses in this race are preparing themselves for a shot at the Group Three Queen Mother Memorial Cup over 2,400m in three weeks’ time and Savvy Nature looks well suited by the extra distance after finishing well to win at Happy Valley over 1,800m last time.
Nash Rawiller looks to have picked up some good mounts that might have been Moreira’s, including Kirov, Pablosky and Bear Pop but he has had to relinquish a last-start winner, Grand Harbour, to compatriot Damian Lane. Grand Harbour was a very tough winner last time in Class Four, but with the class rise, he drops sharply in the weights and just outside Rawiller’s range.
Lane broke the ice with Happy Chappy last week and is finding out first hand that things don’t get a lot easier even after that first win, but at least the absence of the two top men has left him and others with a few scraps this week.
By Nathan Mody
