Andrea Atzeni stars at Sha Tin to land first four-timer in Hong Kong
Andrea Atzeni’s surge up the Hong Kong jockeys’ championship gained further impetus at Sha Tin on Sunday (8 March) when the Italian produced a career-best quartet in Hong Kong, taking his tally of wins to 35 for the season.
Only eight-time champion jockey Zac Purton (84) and Hugh Bowman (39) have ridden more winners this season than Atzeni, who also recorded a second and two thirds from 11 rides on Sunday at Sha Tin to underscore his impressive consistency.
Atzeni has already won over £5 million in prize money this season in Hong Kong, more than the £3.5 million he amassed in his highest earning year in the UK, when riding 116 winners in 2016.
The Italian rider triumphed on He Was Me for Tony Cruz in the Class 5 Somerset Handicap, Manfred Man’s Juicy Dragon in the first section of the Class 4 Rutland Handicap, David Hall’s Good Chap in the second section of the Class 4 Rutland Handicap and John Size’s Endued in the Class 3 Kowloon Tong Club Trophy Handicap.
Atzeni said: “I had good rides but, as you know, it doesn’t always work out. I’ve had a good day. The two horses on the all-weather track had great chances. Tony’s had a chance too and the only question with Endued was the draw (barrier 14).
“I’m picking nice rides and the support is coming. You know what it’s like here – you can never look back; you have to keep looking forward.”
Endued, who is nominated for the HK$26 million (approx. £2.5m) BMW Hong Kong Derby on 22 March, earned a PP Bonus of HK$1.5 million with a brave performance after crossing the field from the outside barrier to take the lead and hang on by a head from Smart Avenue.
In the feature race on the card, the HK$3.72 million (approx. £350,000) Class 1 Essex Handicap, Fast Network was rewarded for a pair of minor placings behind superstar sprinter Ka Ying Rising with deserved success in the for Dennis Yip and Zac Purton.
Third behind Ka Ying Rising in both the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint and G1 Centenary Sprint Cup, Fast Network settled fifth on the fence before Purton coolly weaved a winning passage to down Sky Trust and Invincible Shield in 1m 08.28s.
“It was a really nice win, he’s been consistent all season and he was in a race today where he drew barrier one and there was a bit of speed, so there were some things to help him but it’s always really difficult to carry top weight in these races against some nice young horses,” Purton said.
“He still had to turn up but he did it in pretty soft fashion.”
Yip said: “Everybody knows that Ka Ying Rising is too strong, everywhere in the world, but my horse is really consistent. I think this race, my horse was only 80 per cent.”
Hong Kong racing continues at Happy Valley on Wednesday (11 March).
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