Trainer David Hall told the owners of brilliant speedster Blaze King he thought he "could finish the season the same way he started it" before Sunday's Pok Fu Lam Handicap (1,000m) and was as good as his word. Blaze King (Mark Du Plessis) gave a fine display of sustained speed to register his fifth win from nine attempts at the course and distance and won like a hot favourite not a 35-1 chance, all of which was expected.Hall took over the gelding from Tony Millard at the beginning of t
Trainer David Hall told the owners of brilliant speedster Blaze King he thought he "could finish the season the same way he started it" before Sunday's Pok Fu Lam Handicap (1,000m) and was as good as his word. Blaze King (Mark Du Plessis) gave a fine display of sustained speed to register his fifth win from nine attempts at the course and distance and won like a hot favourite not a 35-1 chance, all of which was expected.
Hall took over the gelding from Tony Millard at the beginning of this season when he looked to have plateaued in Class Two and has now won twice in Class One up the straight with the four-year-old, who could even be a factor in something better in the form he showed this time.
"People have been telling me he's not going well but he trialled brilliantly in the blinkers a couple of weeks ago and I was happy with him. The problem with him is that he's been hard to place since he won early in the season," Hall explained.
"He had a mucopus another time when I was able to get him in a suitable race and four runs ago he got badly blocked here. We've had to experiment with the dirt and Happy Valley and other things that haven't worked, but there just aren't enough of these kinds of races for this grade of horse.
"I knew he was in form and, if he couldn't run well coming back to his favourite course and distance and throwing the blinkers on, I would have been disappointed. I sent an email to the owners yesterday and said I thought that Blaze King could finish the season the way he started - with a win."
Du Plessis was both surprised and delighted with the win after going to the race without high expectations and emerging with his biggest Hong Kong victory.
"I trialled him and he went sensational, then I rode him the other day in the 1,200m and he was dismal but obviously this straight course is his thing," he said.
The bubble burst for Multiglory, who had won four of his five starts down the straight in lower grades and the three-year-old had to settle for a brave third at his first attempt in Class One. He was run out of second in the final 100m by stablemate No More Green, who was sensationally backed from double figures in to 4-1.
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