Bentley sees hope for Tomodachi Kokoroe in Premier Bowl defence

By Paul Ryding

Tomodachi Kokoroe goes to post as the defending champion in Sunday’s (25 October) feature race, the HK$5.35 million G2 Lukfook Jewellery Premier Bowl Handicap (1200m), and while the veteran is searching for a first win since claiming last year’s edition, jockey Harry Bentley believes he is not without hope.

It was 12 months ago that Tomodachi Kokoroe (122lb) claimed the Premier Bowl in 1m 07.39s, a Sha Tin 1200m time only bettered by the world’s top-rated sprinter, stablemate Ka Ying Rising.

That completed a hat-trick of impressive victories to kick off the 2025/26 campaign, and it capped a sensational rise from Class 2 also-ran to Group 2 winner for the son of Written Tycoon.

“Last year he was just bouncing out of his skin for whatever reason,” said Bentley of Tomodachi Kokoroe’s run. “I’m not sure what David was feeding him, but he was in fine fettle!”

Since then, the eight-year-old has campaigned almost exclusively in Group company, and though the wins have dried up, there have been some promising efforts in the intervening period. He outperformed his odds to run third, a length and a quarter behind the winner, in the G3 Sha Tin Vase Handicap (1200m) in May, and finished in front of elite global sprinters Satono Reve, Win Carnelian and Khaadem to run into the prizemoney (sixth) in the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint (1200m) last December.

Bentley said there was little to take from a disappointing run over 1000 metres in the G3 National Day Cup Handicap three weeks ago, but he had seen plenty to encourage in his trackwork.

“Back to the 1200 (metres) is certainly what he wants. He’s much more comfortable over that distance. I’m happy with how he feels in the mornings, and last time – you just put a line through that; it was just too fast for him,” Bentley said.

“He’s obviously getting on now, but he seems to be holding that form well. I think he’ll put in a good performance.”

A successful defence of the ageing galloper’s title this weekend would come as a surprise given the talent lining up in Sunday’s race, which includes Raging Blizzard (135lb), Group 3 winners Colourful King (132lb), Copartner Prance (131lb) and Beauty Waves (124lb), Crimson Flash (127lb), fast-rising Ka Ying Attack (119lb), Aeris Nova (115lb) and Sing Dragon (115lb). But Bentley believes it’s anyone’s race.

“Is he coming into the race in as good order as last year? Perhaps not quite, but this looks a very open race to me, and you could make a case for a few of them. You can’t discount him,” he added.

Tomodachi Kokoroe’s trainer David Hayes is hoping another of his runners can bounce back to winning form on Sunday. Promising three-year-old Jedi Spurs (132lb) has endured two disappointing reversals since bolting in on debut as a two-year-old with a four-and-a-half-length victory in the Sunbird Plate for Griffins (1000m) in June.

The three-year-old son of Cosmic Force, who was touted as a future sprint star last season, has finished second in both subsequent starts, and Hayes is hopeful a change in the saddle – apprentice Nichola Yuen takes over with her seven-pound claim – and a return to 1200m can be the catalyst for improvement in the Class 4 (Restricted) Lukfook Jewellery Rhapsody On The Luo River Goddess Collection Handicap.

“I was very disappointed in him first-up; he got beaten as short-price favourite,” Hayes said. “I think he’s a lot fitter for the run, and maybe the tempo of the 1200 (metres) will improve him a lot, and Nichola could just bowl along in a relaxed manner. He could be hard to beat.

“He works like an upper-class horse, but he’s had two sub-par runs, and I want him to step up to prove that he’s going to go up in class this year.”

Hayes also provided an update on his stable star Ka Ying Rising, who arrived back in Hong Kong on Monday (19 October) after his 21-win streak was halted in the G1 The Everest (1200m) in Sydney, Australia, last Saturday (17 October).

“I think the horse thinks he won,” Hayes said. “He’s got back safely. So, there’s a lot more to come. He’s only lightly raced and we’ll try and win another 12 in a row.”

Sunday’s (25 October) 11-race fixture at Sha Tin begins at 12.40pm with the Class 4 (Restricted) Lukfook Jewellery Rhapsody On The Luo River Goddess Collection Handicap (1200m).