Delivering on soaring expectation, Young Champion left an indelible impression on Karis Teetan as the Mauritian celebrated a treble at Sha Tin after piloting John Size’s exciting talent to victory in the Class 2 Sheung Yeung Shan Handicap (1400m) on Saturday (16 March).
Teetan, who partnered the Zoustar gelding for the first time, was clearly taken with the chestnut’s quality after he laid waste to a seasoned batch of gallopers while having only his third start in Hong Kong – and his first in Class 2.
“Wow. Amazing – this is when you know you ride for Mr Size,” Teetan beamed. “I need to thank Mr Size and (Hong Kong Jockey Club’s) The Racing Club for the opportunity to ride such a progressive horse like this one. It was just a pleasure.
“Today, from that draw (barrier nine), there was plenty of speed in this race and Mr Size told me ‘Be confident on this horse, he’s got the class, leave him where he’s comfortable and he will give you his best’.
“I must say he (Young Champion) felt really good – he’s still raw and you’re going to see a bright future with this horse, definitely.”
Teetan, whose elite Hong Kong achievements include BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m) and G1 FWD QEII Cup (2000m) victories on champion middle-distance stayer Romantic Warrior, rode Young Champion precisely to Size’s instructions.
After settling the gelding in seventh place, Teetan built momentum entering the straight before easing Young Champion (116lb) into clear running. Striking the front near the 250m, the four-year-old was eased down to score by a length from Blue Marlin (118lb) and Lucky Encounter (117lb) in 1m 21.42s.
Covering his last 400m in 22.57s, Young Champion improved his Hong Kong record to two wins from three starts, having started his career as Sharlouk in Ireland, where he won a maiden and ran second in Listed company for Johnny Murtagh.