Fantastic Eight entered the reckoning for this season’s Hong Kong Airlines Million Challenge with an emphatic win in the Class 3 American Club Challenge Cup Handicap (1200m) at Happy Valley tonight, Wednesday, 8 November.

The four-year-old headed downtown for his first start at the city venue with a record of two wins and five seconds from seven career starts at Sha Tin.

Tonight’s victory put Fantastic Eight on the scoreboard in this season’s HK$1 million contest for horses competing in Class 3 and above at the Valley. The competition, which began on 6 September, concludes on 21 February, 2018, and offers a first prize of HK$650,000 to the owner of the horse that accumulates the most points from first four placings.

“For sure, the Million Challenge is something to aim for now,” said trainer Ricky Yiu after the Duporth gelding’s three-length win, in a quick time of 1m 09.56s, earned 15 points.

“He’s a very honest horse, he has a good mindset and he loves getting on that rail. It was a very fast time for a first run here.”

Umberto Rispoli rifled the 2/1 favourite to the lead from gate 11 and was never headed. After slinging off the fence at the turn into the straight, the gelding sprinted to the winning post through a closing split of 22.96s, in spite of his distinctive running action.

“From on top you feel him moving around underneath,” Rispoli said. “There’s not any horse that gallops like he does, but he goes, and he wins. The front goes one way and the back goes the other way! It works though and it works well.

“He’s fast,” he continued. “Probably with a better draw we wouldn’t have spent so much energy to lead, but with that barrier, carrying 132 (pounds), now we can see how good he might be. He came in with good from, he was beaten at Sha Tin by Marvel Tribe and that horse just beat two of the best young horses we have here, Fifty Fifty and Pingwu Spark.

“Ricky’s done a nice job with the horse. He was right to bring him to Happy Valley because the short straight helped him a lot.”

Rispoli completed a quick double in the next, race six. That represented a welcome contrast to the sixth contest at this fixture 12 months ago when the Italian was bounced off the turf in a fall that left him with a broken leg and a couple of months on the sidelines. 

This time, Rispoli enjoyed a smooth run atop the John Size-trained Bank On Red to prevail by a half-length in the Class 3 High Island Handicap (1650m). The former Italian champion jockey was a replacement for the sidelined Joao Moreira tonight. The in-form Zac Purton, a close second in the title race, was also out of action, serving a suspension.

“He was my horse but Joao was first choice tonight so it was nice that John put me back on,” Rispoli said after the 8/1 shot had broken his Hong Kong maiden. “He needed a couple of races to bring him up to this level. He’s green and can still improve a little.”

Bank On Red’s Hong Kong Airlines Million Challenge tally increased to 19 points.

In the night’s finale, the Class 2 Aberdeen Handicap (1200m), the Francis Lui-trained Born In China claimed his first win in more than two years. Second to last term’s Champion Griffin, Premiere, over 1000m last month, Douglas Whyte’s mount went one better this time to win by three quarters of a length from Archippus. 

“He’s just a transformed horse since Francis gave him six months off,” Whyte said. “He’s had issues, enough that he just didn’t feel good, and he was scratched a couple of times. I said they needed to get to the bottom of it and give him some time off, which they did.

“Now he’s absolutely flying. He’d mix it with some of the decent ones in a nice handicap.”

Born In China, returned at 5.6, won the Britannia Handicap (1600m) at Royal Ascot back in June 2014 when known as Born In Bombay.

“His first couple of runs when he came here, the way he used to win with me here, and even at Sha Tin when he flashed home and ran second to a good horse, Amazing Kids – we’ve always known he had ability. When he’s feeling right he can let down, he’s got a motor,” Whyte said.

Apprentice Dylan Mo also notched a brace thanks to the Almond Lee-trained Ocean Roar, a 34/1 shot, in race two and the Me Tsui-trained Curling Luxury (8.7) in the night’s fourth event.

Frankie Lor extended seven clear in the trainers’ premiership after the 5.5 chance Who Else But You scraped home in the seventh, the Class 3 Tai Tam Handicap (1200m), under a punching Nash Rawiller drive. The victory was the gelding’s second in this term’s Million Challenge, lifting him to co-leadership with 30 points.

Trainer David Ferraris and jockey Karis Teetan snared the opener with Rock The Tree (9/1), while jockey Keith Yeung and trainer Richard Gibson teamed up to take race three with the 53/1 longshot, Starlot.

Hong Kong racing resumes at Sha Tin on Saturday, 11 November.