Galaxy Patch’s electrifying turn of foot was once again on full display at Sha Tin on Sunday (23 June) as he strode to a powerful victory in the HK$4.2 million G3 Premier Plate Handicap (1800m) for trainer Pierre Ng.
Handled by a cool Vincent Ho – who praised his mount post-race – Galaxy Patch went from near-last to first in the home straight. The four-year-old clocked 1m 48.64s for the win, sailing over the final 400m in 21.69s as the race’s second favourite.
“He’s a future star and he’s got plenty of potential. He was the best horse in the field, I think, and that’s why he can do something like this. From a wide barrier (10), we just wanted him to settle and he was still a little bit keen probably over the first 400 (metres) and then he relaxed just before entering the turn,” Ho said.
Galaxy Patch won the HK$4.2 million G3 Lion Rock Trophy Handicap (1600m) earlier this month, adding to a growing record of six wins from 12 starts in Hong Kong, which includes consecutive runner-up finishes in this season’s HK$13 million G1 Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup (1400m) and HK$26 million BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m).
“I just took my time to let him slowly slide forward and asked him for an effort and he’s a very decent horse,” Ho said. “Thanks to Pierre’s team for their support and trust – to be able to ride good horses like this is everything.”
