The John Size-trained D B Pin takes the rise in class in Sunday’s Peninsula Golden Jubilee Challenge Cup, 1,000m, but gets a race setup that should see him graduate in style.
The talented four-year-old walked in with the voided race at Happy Valley on October 26 when the gates misfired due to an errant rake, but it didn’t count and D B Pin (Karis Teetan) had to be sent back there to do it all again and break his maiden in Class Four three weeks later.
This time things didn’t work out quite as well in running as they had in the no race and, instead of winning by a big space, this time D B Pin only arrived in time to score by a neck over the Valley 1,000m.
It might not have looked as sexy to the eye but D B Pin’s performance was every bit as good as he didn’t get a soft run through the race this time. He was bumped around, got keen at times and was pushed off the track on the home turn but produced easily the best final split of the night to arrive in time and Zac Purton was fairly kind to the gelding once he had the win in hand.
Now he goes back to a bigger track at Sha Tin over the course where he chased home the very speedy Dancing Flames on debut last season, and D B Pin looks perfectly placed with no weight and the right race plan from gate 12.
There is a lot of speed in the race with apprentice riders on Gallant Rock and Hella Hedge and pace from Fortune Bobo (Joao Moreira) as well as some quick newcomers. Whether Lucky Wan Feng and King Mortar look to or even can be part of the lead pace from their poor inside draws remains to be seen but Super Wise (Douglas Whyte) and Applause have speed and are much better drawn.
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Having pace on should allow Teetan the luxury of sitting back on D B Pin and launching in the final 150m. The gelding is race fit, lightly weighted and pretty talented, so Teetan’s job comes down to making sure he gets clear running at the right time and he should make short work of the opposition.
That’s not to knock his rivals as there are some handy ones amongst them, including the new horses, with the one to really watch being Super Wise.
He raced only once in Melbourne, scoring a brilliant win down the straight at Flemington against better than average opposition and it’s worth noting that trainer Dennis Yip Chor-hong has chosen a straight event for his local debut.