Michael Chang will consider a tilt at the HK$4.2 million G3 Sha Tin Vase Handicap (1200m) on 31 May with Lady’s Choice after the much-improved gelding upstaged a class field of rising talents to win the Class 2 Pok Fu Lam Reservoir Road Handicap (1200m) at Sha Tin on Saturday (10 May).
By Charm Spirit, Lady’s Choice (119lb) led all the way under Matthew Poon to score at odds of 13/1, defeating Bottomuptogether (132lb) by three quarters of a length with Tomodachi Kokoroe (120lb) a head further way in third.
Clocking 1m 08.44s, the five-year-old posted his fourth win of the season and took his earnings beyond HK$10 million for connections, the HK Association of Lady Horse Lovers, having started this preparation on a mark of 66.
Rated 87 before today’s race, Lady’s Choice was brilliantly rated in the lead by Poon before fending off Bottomuptogether and Tomodachi Kokoroe as Fast Network (135lb) finished fifth with Wunderbar (130lb), eighth.
“He’s now fully mature. Mentally, he’s improved a lot. Last year, he was still mentally a little bit hot but he’s now calmed down a lot. He relaxes, he knows the racing and he tries and he keeps improving,” Chang said. “Maybe I will run him in the Group 3 race at the end of this month. He will carry a light weight, he holds his form well.”