Fownes barn streaks into Happy Valley feature

Even considering that Caspar Fownes has been going well pretty much this entire Hong Kong racing season, the trainer’s performance June 20 at Sha Tin still stood out.

Fownes had 12 runners on the 10-race card and notched five winners. Southern Legend won the Group 3 Premier Plate over 1,800 meters, while Fownes ran one-two in the Group 3 Premier Cup with Sky Field and Sky Darci. Capping the day was another decisive win from the exciting 3-year-old Killer Bee.

Fownes, who last won a Hong Kong training title during the 2013-14 season, took a seven-winner lead over John Size in this year’s standings.

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Sky Field was three times the price of favored Sky Darci in the Premier Cup but was much better on the day, closing from 10th under Blake Shinn to beat Hong Kong Derby winner Sky Darci by 1 1/2 lengths. Sky Field, an Australian-bred 4-year-old, was racing for the 11th time this season and won his first race at a distance longer than 1,200 meters.

Southern Legend carried top weight of 133 pounds in the Premier Plate and got home under Zac Purton by a half-length over Reliable Team, who got 20 pounds from the winner. Southern Legend had been a consistent high-class performer in 10 starts this Hong Kong term but notched his first win of the 2020-21 season.

Killer Bee buzzed past 13 Class 3 handicap foes to win a 1,200 sprint by 1 1/2 lengths under Joao Moreira. The New Zealand-bred gelding was beaten a nose in his second career start but has won his four other races, three of them by 1 1/2 lengths or farther. Moreira and Fownes said Killer Bee still was a green, immature horse, and hopes are high for his continued development next season.

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There’s more to come from Fownes on the Wednesday night card at Happy Valley, including two runners, The Rock and Green Luck, in the featured fourth race. This is a Class 2 handicap for horses rated 100-80 and contested over 1,650 meters, one lap around the irregularly shaped and undulating Happy Valley course.

At Happy Valley or Sha Tin, turf or dirt, from on the pace or closing from well off it, The Rock has enjoyed a strong 2020-21 campaign, during which he has landed three wins from 10 starts while raising his Hong Kong rating from 74 to 97. The Rock’s mark came up seven points following his June 6 start at Sha Tin, where he broke from post 14, made the lead, and won a Class 2 over 1,600 meters by two lengths. That performance came one race after The Rock rallied from 10th to finish second in a Sha Tin dirt race, and the 5-year-old gelding has two second-place finishes and a third in his Happy Valley starts this season. In Wednesday’s race he must overcome a 130-pound burden after winning his last two carrying 118 and 123 pounds.

Leading rider Moreira lands on Fownes’s other entrant, Green Luck, who is rated 95, comes off a solid second-place Happy Valley finish under similar conditions, and rates at least a strong a chance as The Rock.

First post for the nine-race card is 6:45 a.m. Eastern. You can catch all the action at DRFBets.com.