Jing Jing Win (Aus) (Starcraft {NZ}), owned by Liu Yu Wen, took his record to a perfect two-for-two in a Class 3 contest at Sha Tin Sunday “>(Video). Heavily favored at 3-5 odds in the 1200-metre affair, Jing Jing Win chased in a tracking sixth and spun five deep into the lane with 400 metres yet to cover. Given a few left-handers by Zac Purton, he hit the front 150 metres out and scampered home to win by 2 3/4 lengths with Starship (Aus) (Husson {Arg}) running on for second.
“I'm a horse trainer not a handicapper,” said trainer David Hall to South China Morning Post of his 2015 Hong Kong International Sale topper. “Who knows what the handicapper is going to give him, we saw what happened to [recently defeated 'TDN Rising Star'] Pakistan Star (Ger) (Shamardal). It's not something we want to see, these young horses being penalised too quickly. They've got to race against the more seasoned horses before they are really ready for it. It's a bit of a test.”
In the latter's case, he rose to a mark of 87 after two brilliant last to first victories, but ran second in his third start, a Class 2 1400-metre handicap Oct. 16.
Jing Jing Win topped the Hong Kong International Sale this March, at HK$8.5 million (A$1,455,479/US$1,103,896/£767,148/€982,659), prior to a four-length victory in a Class 4 handicap when unveiled Sept. 18. The full-brother to GSW Havana (Aus), was originally snapped up by the HKJC for A$360,000 from the Arrowfield Stud draft out of the 2014 Inglis Easter Yearling Sale.
The 2000-metre HKG1 Hong Kong Derby is a possibility for Jing Jing Win going forward, but Hall remained cautious and noted he would wait and learn more about his charge prior to committing to a race like the Derby.
“Of course you can never run way from that word [Derby] in this town,” Hall continued. “But for me, it's not a word that even comes into play with this type of horse. He doesn't give me any inclination that he is a Derby style of horse. He has an enormous amount of talent and he does things very easily, whatever he does–but whether you stretch him to 2000 metres, well it's a long way away. You might think you can do it in his 4-year-old year because the others aren't as good at that time, but then again, with a horse like Pakistan Star, and others to come, it might be an incredible race. We've got a lot to learn about the horse as well.”
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