Tony Cruz vaulted back into the top five of the 2022/23 Hong Kong trainers’ championship and maintained hopes of a third title when Beauty Charge earned a rise in grade with a stylish win in the Class 3 O’Brien Handicap (1200m) under Matthew Chadwick at Happy Valley on Wednesday night (22 February).

Cruz, who was champion trainer in 1999/00 and 2004/05 after a distinguished riding career, secured his 30th win for the current season with Beauty Charge’s success to maintain touch with John Size (37 wins), Frankie Lor (33), Ricky Yiu (31), Danny Shum (30) and Francis Lui (30).

Famed by his association with Hong Kong champion sprinter Silent Witness and several other top-liners including Exultant and Bullish Luck, Cruz holds more modest ambitions for Beauty Charge, a two-year-old winner in Ireland before export to Hong Kong.

“I think he can be competitive in Class 2 and let’s see where he goes from there,” Cruz said after the four-year-old’s bullocking win. “He’s a nice horse but I don’t think he’s a Group horse.”

Chadwick, who is making impressive headway after recovering from an ankle injury, agrees with Cruz’s assessment of the Havana Gold gelding, who carried 132lb to victory after steaming between runners: “I think he’s shown he can be competitive in Class 2, he’s run and won against decent horses, especially last season.

“He’s run well and if he runs to his normal pattern where he just jumps and sits where he is comfortable and is relaxed, then he can just charge home. Unfortunately, today we just followed the wrong horse but there wasn’t much we could do from that barrier – it all ended up well.

“He just has to learn to relax a bit more. I was following the wrong horse (Golden Link) and I couldn’t do anything about it – he just wasn’t taking me into the race and I got held up. I had to stop for a bit and I had to wait and wait, he just wanted to get going and get into the race properly, but I managed to hold him together and I got the gap on the inside – I beat Sugar Sugar to the gap and he sprint through it well.”

With the Class 3 Luard Handicap (1650m) abandoned because of safety issues after an incident involving Sight Spirit, eight different trainers produced winners at the city circuit tonight as Zac Purton secured a double to have 96 winners for the season.

The Australian successfully combined with Jamie Richards and Peter Ho as Manfred Man continued an excellent season with E Brother’s slender triumph in the Class 4 Hong Kong Football Club Centenary Cup Handicap (1200m) for Silvestre de Sousa. Posting his third win in four starts, E Brother responded gamely for De Sousa after being challenged by E Rainbow and Savvy Delight.

“I think the barrier (two) made the difference,” said Man, who has 24 wins for the campaign. “He did a good job.”

Allgreektome gave David Hayes is first winner since January with a blistering display under Vincent Ho to clinch the third section of the Class 4 Lockhart Handicap (1200m).

“This horse nearly ran Class 1 time getting beaten the other day and he just needed the run after having mucus. It was crazy, it was the best odds he’s been and it was the best chance he’s been. I think he’ll have no trouble progressing through the grades,” Hayes said.

Jamie Richards-trained Flying On The Turf extended his stunning run of form with a third successive victory, taking the first section of the Class 4 Lockhart Handicap (1200m) under Purton.

“We’ll just keep ticking him and eventually it (the winning sequence) will come to an end and he’ll reach his mark but he’s in a rich vein of form and when a horse is confident and running well like that, they can sustain it,” Richards said.

Pierre Ng increased his stable tally to 24 wins for the season when Flaming Eagle broke through for his first win at his ninth start by claiming the second section of the Class 5 Fenwick Handicap (1200m) under Alexis Badel.

“He’s been a bit weak because of gastro problems and he needed time to get through that and he’s now slowly getting stronger,” Ng said. “He can still get stronger and I think he can be competitive in a Class 4 race over this distance (1200m) in the future.”

John Size’s patience was rewarded with Raging Blaze’s withering victory in the first section of the Class 5 Fenwick Handicap (1200m) for Karis Teetan. Making his 26th start after arriving in Hong Kong in October, 2020 on a rating of 52, the Iffraaj gelding blasted down the outside with an acceleration which belied his pre-race rating of 20 to belatedly add a victory to five minor placings.

Amazing Boy’s success in the first section of the Class 4 Fleming Handicap (1650m) under Keith Yeung presented Michael Chang with his eighth triumph of the season before Peter Ho slotted his tenth win of the term when Zac Purton piloted Packing Succeeder to victory in the second section of the Class 4 Fleming Handicap (1650m).

“He’s (Packing Succeeder) a nice horse. He’s a four-year-old, but mentally he’s not 100 per cent mature yet. He’s still green and has a lot to learn,” Ho said. “Zac likes him. The only thing is in the last race he made a mistake – he over-did it in the back straight, that’s why he couldn’t finish off.

“This time he had the lesson already, that’s why he tried to save him a bit and he had a good finish.”

Hong Kong racing continues at Sha Tin on Sunday (26 February) with the running of the G1 Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup (2000m) and the Hong Kong Classic Cup (1800m).