Karis Teetan lavished rich praise on Howdeepisyourlove after John Size’s talented three-year-old capped a stunning debut season by overcoming difficulty to win in the Class 2 Seoul Handicap (1200m) at Happy Valley on Wednesday night (26 April).

Securing a HK$1 million PPG Bonus in addition to HK$1.5 million in prize money, the Deep Field gelding slotted his fourth win of the season, clocking 1m 08.82s in defying Rock Ya Heart by a neck in a pulsating finale to the card.

“He had a bit of interference in the run today when he was forced to go down to the rail when I was happy to stay one-off to get a smooth run and it was his quality that got him through,” Teetan said.

“It’s massive for a three-year-old to win a Class 2. The quality is there – he’s a nice, young horse and I’m grateful for Mr Size and the horse’s owners for their support.”

Teetan’s assessment of Howdeepisyourlove was echoed by Size.

“He’s a little bit young to be doing what he’s doing but his ability is helping him a lot, so that’s what it is all about – he looks like he’s got some quality,” the 11-time Hong Kong Champion Trainer said.

“He does the same all of the time and he’s developing into a good horse – he’s doing his job properly, so we’ll just keep going.”

Boosting his tally of wins to 44 for the season, Teetan also prevailed on Telecom Speed for Me Tsui in the first section of the Class 4 Daejeon Handicap (1200m). Tsui has seven wins for the season so far.

Benno Yung attributes Son Pak Fu’s transformation from wayward under-achiever to repetitive winner to a combination of factors, including gear changes and growing maturity, following the gelding’s gaping Class 3 Incheon Handicap (1200m) victory under Jerry Chau.

Unplaced in his first five runs when poor racing manners sabotaged Yung’s preparation, the Fighting Sun gelding has now stitched together four wins in succession – all at the city circuit – with his latest success crowned by a three-length margin.

“This horse has just kept improving, he’s better than I thought. I’m a little bit surprised that he won so easily,” Yung said. “He was a bit green to start and he had a lot to learn. Sometimes he would run at his own speed and then there was nothing at the finish.

“We just corrected him by changing the gear step by step. We changed the bit and the one-sided blinkers and it helped him. The horse himself kept improving with racing experience. We’ll keep racing him here and hopefully he can step up in class.”

La City Blanche collected a PP Bonus of HK$1 million by winning the Class 3 Korea Racing Authority Trophy Handicap (1800m) under Zac Purton for Tony Cruz while To Infinity continued Jamie Richards’ impressive April run by clinching the Class 5 Ulsan Handicap (1650m) under Derek Leung.

Richards has slotted seven wins from 27 starters for the month to have 28 victories for the season.

Snowalot’s consistency was rewarded with a second win in four starts when the Contributer gelding triumphed in the second section of the Class 4 Daejeon Handicap (1200m) for David Hayes. Finishing powerfully under Lyle Hewitson, Snowalot notched his second win over the course and distance.

Hayes sealed a brace in partnership with Leung when Harmony N Blessed returned to the winners’ list for the first time since October, 2021 by snaring the Class 3 Busan Handicap (1000m).

“It’s nice to get a double and it’s good to see this horse winning again,” Hayes, a dual Hong Kong champion trainer, said. “He’s had some issues along the way and it’s great to see him back running well again.”

Caspar Fownes improved his April tally to 10 wins with a double through Invincible Missile and Ace Talent.

Dropping in grade, Invincible Missile swept to success in the Class 4 Gwangju Handicap (1650m) for Hugh Bowman.

“He jumped well, gate two was a bit of an advantage, he’s been racing quite well. Obviously, he needed a bit of rating relief, he got into the right class and he’s got the winning result,” Fownes said.

Rated as high as 90 in 2019/20, Invincible Missile had dropped to 59 before tonight’s triumph.

Ace Talent fended off Super Axiom and Oversubscribed in a frantic finish to the Class 4 Daegu Handicap (1000m), prevailing by a head with the same margin to third in a slick 56.91s under Alexis Badel.

“Today, from gate five, it’s job done. I’m happy. He’s had a lot of racing, so he has a break now and if you can get a winning result, you’ve done your job as a trainer in Hong Kong and that’s what my job is, so I’m happy,” Fownes said.

Hong Kong racing continues on Sunday (30 April) at Sha Tin with FWD Champions Day and the running of the G1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize (1200m), G1 FWD Champions Mile (1600m) and G1 FWD QEII Cup (2000m).