Amazing Star (NZ) (Darci Brahma) put a mishap in the gates behind him last month with an impressive win in Wednesday’s Class 2 Begonia Handicap (1200m) at Happy Valley, securing Hong Kong’s champion jockey Zac Purton a double and his sixth win from the last two race meetings.
The brace
moved him to within two wins of championship leader, Joao Moreira, who remained
on 87 wins after drawing a blank.
“There were
some very fast horses in that race and I drew wide, so I expected them to make
me work a little bit but he just has so much natural speed – he seems to get
there fairly comfortably and then it’s just a matter of getting him to switch
off in the run and then for him to relax because he’s very competitive,” Purton
said of Amazing Star.
The Darci
Brahma gelding broke cleanly but was forced to settle wide throughout from gate
11 in the early stages before being able to slot in outside of leader, Moment
Of Power (121lb). The five-year-old hit the front in the straight to record a
three-quarter-length success.
“He’s so
used to being in front on his own and he had to adapt tonight and I thought he
adapted quite well – it was credit to him,” the Australian said.
Trainer
Jimmy Ting was also pleased, that his plan had come to fruition with the
gelding.
“If he
didn’t break through the gates last time I think he would have won, but anyway,
he needed to trial and in that he was lucky that the same leader was in the
trial as tonight because I wanted to see if he could sit and chase a little bit
which he did,” Ting said.
The handler
suggested that his gelding had earned a break, after securing his fourth win
this term off a mark of 94 after kicking off his campaign on 58.
Purton kicked off his double in the opener, grabbing the Class 5 Wistaria Handicap (2200m) aboard Garlic Yeah (NZ) (Savabeel) for trainer Dennis Yip.
