By Alan Carasso
As if Sunday's three Group 2 features at Sha Tin weren't enough, the program closes with a pair of Class 2 handicap events, each of which has attracted potential stars of the future in Hong Kong.
Race nine is to be contested over the metric mile and features Pakistan Star (Ger) (Shamardal), who wowed the Sha Tin faithful with a spectacular last-to-first dash on his career debut July 1 and became the locale's first 'TDN Rising Star' with another breathtaking rally from the tail in Class 3 company Sept. 18. He was crunched into 1.4 (2-5) favoritism to retain his unbeaten mark in his first try in Class 2 over 1400m Oct. 16, but was simply left with too much to do on that occasion and did well to be second, with a final quarter-mile in :21.65. (HKJC PPs).
“He keeps improving and even though he came out second best last time, he still ran a terrific race, the final sectional proves that,” said jockey Matt Chadwick, who has the call from trainer Tony Cruz. “He's got the ability, there's no doubt about that. Now he's stepping up in distance, he's improving in his trackwork and it's about putting what he's learnt in the morning into practice on raceday.”
An €180,000 Arqana Deauville August yearling purchase, Pakistan Star fetched HK$6 million (€693,374/£580,209) at the 2016 Hong Kong International Sale.
Mr Stunning (Aus) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}) makes his first start of the current season in race 10 over six furlongs. The John Size trainee turned in an equally impressive debut at Happy Valley last February, coming from a near-impossible position with 200m to race to score and was sent off at odds-on in each of his next three tries, including a short-head success over track and trip Apr. 16 that is better than it may appear on paper. The always-cautious Size is taking things one step at a time.
“I'm not confident he will be too good for Class 2 company at all, everything gallops in Class 2, they can all run,” the Australian said. “There are plenty of horses here that there is hype around, he's just one of many. Obviously, because he hasn't had many convictions, he's going to be a favourite of the public.”
Joao Moreira has the call in the day's finale. (HKJC PPs)
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