All For St Paul’s (120lb) delivered a stunning blow against a quality field in tonight’s (25 October) HK$3.12 million Class 2 Hebe Hill Handicap (1650m) at Sha Tin.

Sent to his customary leading position by jockey Matthew Poon, a tenacious All For St Paul’s routed the opposition to grab an eighth Hong Kong win and third in the grade, lifting his all-time earnings to HK$11.973 million from 42 starts for trainer Frankie Lor.

“He’s a seven-year-old! I have to give him such big credit, he tries very hard and most of the time he always tries very hard for me. He’s a lovely horse, I love him and today I was a little bit surprised he could win,” Poon said.

The winning time of the race was 1m 38.01s. The Magnus gelding – after stepping away from gate one – was well supported late into 12/1 odds and finished two lengths ahead of Chancheng Prince (130lb), while Rise Brethren (123lb) crossed the line in third place. 

Chancheng Prince initially levelled up to All For St Paul’s in the straight, however, couldn’t match his finishing burst as Poon collected a fourth win aboard his mount.

“He’s consistent, honest and I love him and I think he also loves me. I’m happy to win a Class 2 – he’s amazing. He’s funny, sometimes he jumps very fast and sometimes he just jumps ok, most of the time he jumps fast which means he’s feeling well. He gave me good confidence, even at his age and he still looks strong and fit,” Poon said.

The win was Poon’s second this term, while Lor collected his 11th. Lor also saddled Everyone’s Delight (123lb) and Youthful Deal (126lb) in the race to finish seventh and eighth, respectively. 

“He’s (All For St Paul’s) very consistent, sometimes when he goes in front and leads by himself – he can do amazing things,” Lor said.

Handsome Twelve (124lb) faded to the rear, while Apache Pass (126lb), True Legend (118lb) and Spirited Express (129lb) failed to make an impact. 

Newnham takes two at Sha Tin

Trainer Mark Newnham celebrated not only his first win on the dirt at Sha Tin but his first double in Hong Kong. All Is Ready kicked things off for the handler as the recipient of a supreme Luke Ferraris ride in the Class 5 Tsim Mei Fung Handicap (1200m).

“He feels great and I think the decision by Mark to bring him back to sprinting has paid off and obviously it was the right decision,” Ferraris said.

Ferraris then sealed Newnham’s brace aboard Mission Bravo in the Class 4 Tiu Yue Yung Handicap (1650m). It was a full circle moment for Newnham who was proud to repay loyal connections by scoring with a horse he previously trained in Australia.  

“To win with this horse (Mission Bravo) is special because I trained him before in Australia, and Paul Cheng who is manager of the syndicate, he supported me seven years ago when I started training and right up until I came here.”

Perfect Team became Deep Impact’s fifth individual winner in Hong Kong. The five-year-old – trained by Caspar Fownes and ridden by jockey Ellis Wong – surged clear under the apprentice’s 10-pound claim to win the Class 3 Shek Uk Shan Handicap (1650m).

“He was running very consistently on the dirt and he came into this race in good form,” Fownes said. “Most important, Ellis rode a beautiful race.”

Magic Supreme’s go-forward racing style saw him net his fifth win in Hong Kong. Ridden by Matthew Chadwick for trainer Manfred Man, the eight-year-old wasn’t for catching in the second section of the Class 4 Tin Ha Shan Handicap (1200m).

“The horse won well, but I would like to dedicate the win to Howard Liang. It’s a shame, he’s a big owner and he’s supported me throughout my years. It’s sad for the whole family and I send my regards,” Chadwick said.

Renowned for his ownership of the ‘California’ horses, like California Memory and California Spangle, Liang passed away today.

Chadwick rode with great success for Liang, donning the owner’s familiar yellow and red silks to a swag of big-race wins aboard superstar galloper California Memory, which includes a pair of G1 Hong Kong Cup (2000m) wins (2011 & 2012).  

Jockey Brenton Avdulla maintained his winning run for trainer John Size, this time aboard Red Desert in the first section of the Class 4 Tin Ha Shan Handicap (1200m).

“He obviously hasn’t seen the winning post for a while but he’s a good quality horse who handles the conditions and he was able to get the win today,” Avdulla said.

A first-rate Keith Yeung drive saw Jubilation land the Class 5 Wa Mei Shan Handicap (1800m) for trainer Chris So. The rider found the fence early, saved ground, before capturing last-gasp victory aboard the bay. 

“I think saving ground was very important, we got lucky, I could slot him in midfield on the fence and it saved me a lot of work, so therefore he could finish strongly,” Yeung said.

The lightly-raced Packing Bole closed out the eight-race all-dirt fixture with his first win at his first start on the surface, leading from the get-go to score in the Class 3 Pyramid Hill Handicap (1200m) for jockey Andrea Atzeni and trainer Danny Shum.

Hong Kong racing continues at Happy Valley this Sunday (29 October).