California Disegno Carries Experience into Sam Shing Handicap

Derby prospect is a tough tag to justify, just look at California Disegno. Tony Cruz’s charge flirted with Derby pretensions last year only to miss out on Hong Kong’s blue riband, and in Saturday’s Class 2 Sam Shing Handicap (1600m) at Sha Tin the five-year-old will aim to put that experience to full use against a quartet of this season’s BMW Hong Kong Derby entrants.

Prior to import, the Fastnet Rock gelding made the frame in the Feilden Stakes and the Dee Stakes - two traditional milestones for horses eyeing a tilt at the English Derby. Purchased thereafter as a BMW Hong Kong Derby hopeful, that dream evaporated with a distant 11th in last year’s Hong Kong Classic Cup (1800m), but solid recent form suggests that the bay is now finding his feet.

“He had the form in England that shows he’s got ability, so now hopefully he knows the place (Hong Kong) and can show his best. He didn’t quite make it to the top level over there and it’s been the same here so far, but he’s a nice horse and I think Tony has found the right race for him,” jockey Silvestre de Sousa said at track work this morning, Friday, 10 February.

De Sousa partnered California Disegno to finish a head second to subsequent Hong Kong Classic Mile third Beauty Generation in a course and distance Class 2 on 8 January. That was the Brazilian rider’s first engagement with the bay, who is seeking to break a 14-race losing streak that stretches back to June, 2014 and a juvenile maiden win on Kempton’s Polytrack for Sir Michael Stoute.

“It was a smashing run last time, I was pleased with that and now I’m just hoping for a bit of luck this time,” he said. “The race didn’t pan out and that’s the way it is sometimes, but tomorrow I hope he can get a better run because Tony’s (Cruz) horses are in blinding form and I think this horse is, too. He’ll be competitive if he gets the luck.”

The Cruz stable notched a feature race double at Happy Valley on Wednesday and is double-handed in this 10-runner contest, with one of the aforementioned Derby prospects, Circuit Hassler, seeking to build on a last start eighth behind Rapper Dragon in the Classic Mile. That result represented a step forward for the New Zealand import, the pace-setter in that first leg of the Four-Year-Old Classic Series.

“It’s a small field, not many horses, and I’ll be hoping to try to lead the race,” jockey Matthew Chadwick said. “He’s a bit one-paced but I think he can set good sectionals at a high tempo. He’s a bit laidback but the further he goes the better.

“I think he’s come on as a horse, he’s improved each run and I think he’s a more solid horse now. If he can improve another couple of lengths off his last run, I’d like to think I could dictate on my terms up front and hopefully he can stay on.

It’s an open race; I don’t think there’s a standout.”

Raghu, People’s Knight and Let Us Win are the others holding an entry for the BMW Hong Kong Derby on 19 March.

Source: Hong Kong Jockey Club (David Morgan)