South Africans Luke Ferraris and Douglas Whyte combined for their first success together when The Good Deal swept to victory in the Class 5 Lam Tsuen River Handicap at Sha Tin on Sunday.
“It was nice to ride a winner for Douglas,” Ferraris, 21, said. “We were joking about it and the full circle from the days I was sitting on the fence watching him (13-time Hong Kong champion jockey Whyte) ride, so to ride a winner for him is pretty special. It’s a bit overdue, but I’m happy it’s come.”
Luke Ferraris breaks the ice for fellow countryman Doug Whyte on The Good Deal (Pic – HKJC)
Whyte said: “He (Ferraris) hasn’t had that many rides (for me), to be fair to him. He’s had a couple and he’s knocked up a few places. He rode him (The Good Deal) a treat the other day and there was no reason not to give him the ride back.”
Whyte praised Harry Bentley’s enterprising ride on Wonder Years after the gelding’s triumph in the Class 4 Sha Tau Kok River Handicap (2000m). Urged along to maintain contact at the tail of the field leaving the straight, Wonder Years then made a searching run from the 1200m mark before reaching a lead he would never surrender.
“Harry summed it up beautifully. I said to him to get going whenever you feel the horse is travelling, but he got going a long way out and it was the winning move,” Whyte said. “He’s been a good horse to my stable, he’s over 17 hands – a big boy – and he’s now mature. The giving ground has helped him and the races in Hong Kong are not long enough for him, but he’s done a good job so far.”
Alexis Badel combined with Ricky Yiu in a reprise of the duo’s BMW Hong Kong Derby success with Voyage Bubble when Spirited Express claimed the Class 2 Beas River Handicap (1600m) before teaming with Tony Millard aboard Speed Fay Fay in the first section of the Class 4 Ng Tung River Handicap (1400m).
“Alexis rode a lovely race and he got him out of the pens very quickly – sometimes he can be quite sluggish. The horse has dropped down nicely in the handicap and it was a lovely win. Good to have,” Millard said.
Hong Kong racing continues at Happy Valley on Thursday.
