Caspar Fownes moved ahead of Mark Newnham in a back-and-forth contest for the Hong Kong trainers’ championship with a brace at Happy Valley on Tuesday night (23 December), bringing the curtain down on the meeting in dramatic style as Kaholo Angel shared a dead-heat with Helene Feeling.
Champion trainer in 2006/07, 2008/09, 2013/14, and 2020/21, Fownes holds a slim advantage over Newnham – 27 wins to 25 – after securing his seventh success at the City Circuit this month. The judge could not split Kaholo Angel (124lb), ridden by Ellis Wong, and Danny Shum’s Helene Feeling (135lb), piloted by Hugh Bowman, in the Class 2 Neptune Handicap (1650m).
“He’s (Kaholo Angel) been in good shape,” Fownes said. “We felt he had an outside chance tonight and it turned out to be a terrific result. We gave him an opportunity against a strong line-up. He’s a genuine horse – all six of his wins have come at the Valley over 1200m and it was great to see the kid give him a beautiful ride.
“Based on his trial last week, we had a good sign that he’d handle the distance, especially around this track.”
Hong Kong Trainers’ Championship Battle Shifts After Valley Thriller
Fownes was already on the board earlier in the night when local track expert Sugar Sugar (130lb) secured his first win since 30 October, 2024, notching his seventh win at the course and distance. Also partnered by Wong, Sugar Sugar stopped the clock in 1m 09.55s, defeating Giant Ballon (126lb) and Winning Money (124lb) with authority.
“He’s done well for us. He’s a solid course and distance horse at Happy Valley, he loves the 1200m. He’s been running quite consistently at Sha Tin and just needed a class drop and a good draw (barrier four) to be competitive tonight, and the kid gave him a perfect ride,” Fownes said.
In addition to topping the overall table, Fownes also leads the Happy Valley-specific rankings with 18 wins, ahead of Shum (14) and David Hayes (nine).
Maxime Guyon continued his fruitful short-term stint, riding a double aboard Quantum Patch and The Auspicious to raise his tally to six wins from 46 rides, tying riding honours with Wong.
The Frenchman’s bold midrace move helped Pierre Ng-trained Quantum Patch (133lb) return to winning form for the first time in 21 starts with a dominant three-length success in the second division of the Class 4 Venus Handicap (1650m), before guiding The Auspicious to victory for Me Tsui.
Forced to drop to the back of the 12-runner field from gate 10 on Quantum Patch, Guyon made his move 800m from home, travelling four-wide and banking on the Irish-bred runner’s staying power.
“I had a tough draw and just had to wait. The pace was moderate and when I launched him into the race, he did it very easily and won impressively tonight,” Guyon said.
Tsui also collected a double, prevailing when The Auspicious (119lb) narrowly edged out Liveandletlive (129lb) to land the Class 3 Saturn Handicap (2200m).
“He has a strong finish over the final 300 metres and can deliver at both Sha Tin and Happy Valley,” Tsui said of The Auspicious. “I’m really satisfied with my current form.”
Tsui, who has posted 11 wins this term, also hit the scoreboard when Concorde Star (124lb) broke through on his 11th attempt to take the Class 5 Mercury Handicap (1200m) with James Orman aboard.
Frankie Lor moved within one win of the 500-win milestone as Zac Purton steered Absolute Awakened (122lb) to victory in the first section of the Class 4 Venus Handicap (1650m). Sidelined due to a fetlock issue in August 2024, the gelding gave sire Ardrossan a quick double following Concorde Star’s success.
Hayes kept his title hopes alive as Awesome Treasure (122lb) led all the way to win the second division of the Class 4 Jupiter Handicap (1200m) under Lyle Hewitson. Making his 50th career appearance, the eight-year-old surpassed HK$6 million in earnings.
California Blitz (130lb) fended off a late surge from Good Luck Happy (127lb) to secure his second course-and-distance win in the Class 4 Jupiter Handicap (1200m) for Cody Mo and Matthew Chadwick. The Capitalist gelding had scored by a short head on 3 December and repeated the effort by a head in this contest, clocking 1m 09.45s.
Hong Kong racing resumes at Sha Tin on Saturday (27 December).
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