Hong Kong Jockey Club
Jockey Karis Teetan continued his perfect run through Hong Kong’s Group races in 2018 after taking the G3 Bauhinia Sprint Trophy Handicap (1000m) aboard John Size’s Premiere (NZ) (Dylan Thomas) at Sha Tin on Sunday (7 January).
Six days after winning the G3 Chinese Club Challenge Cup Handicap (1400m) on Fifty Fifty (NZ) (Thorn Park), Teetan produced a well-planned ride aboard Premiere to take the Bauhinia Sprint Trophy, one of only two Group races over the Sha Tin straight.
Instead of allowing Premiere to lead, as he had often done in the past, Teetan settled the Dylan Thomas gelding just behind early lamplighter Fabulous One (NZ) (Elusive City) on the grandstand rail.
“In his trials, I’d been taking a sit on him and he’d been letting down nicely,” Teetan said, with Size adding: “I’d been mindful that he would have to get around a bend eventually, so I’d been trying to get him used to the idea of travelling behind horses in his dirt trials. He seemed to bring that to the races today.”
“I knew that with a steady tempo set by Fabulous One, he’d get a nice trail and that he would let down – and he did!” Teetan continued. “Once he got through the gap at the 300m, which he did very comfortably, he went on with it and he was so strong right to the line.”
At the line, 3.2 shot Premiere had a three-quarter length margin over Chris So’s Fabulous One, with a further half-length back to Premiere’s stablemate House Of Fun (Starcraft), who finished third as the even-money favourite.
Premiere was named Champion Griffin after his exploits as a three-year-old, when he won three of his 12 starts and took his rating from 52 to 82. However, he has gone to another level at four, winning all four of his starts this season and emerging as a legitimate stakes-level galloper.
“He’s certainly stronger this season,” Size said. “He’s shown that he has taken a step forward, so now, we are going to have to bite the bullet and attempt 1200m with him, because the next 1000m race for him is not until October. We have no other option.”
The feature was the second leg of a double for Teetan, who earlier won the Class 3 Heather Handicap (1600m) on Hong Kong Classic Mile aspirant Morethanlucky (NZ) (Per Incanto). -HKJC