David Hayes has options with Classic Mile-bound Lucky Encounter: ‘he was never going to lose’
- Four-year-old improves his record to four wins from six starts with victory in the Class Three Lung Hang Handicap (1,200m) at Sha Tin on Sunday
David Hayes will chase more sprinting success with in-form four-year-old Lucky Encounter before turning his attention to the Classic Mile come February.
Lucky Encounter continued his blistering start to the season at Sha Tin on Sunday, powering home in the Class Three Lung Hang Handicap (1,200m) to post a second successive victory and take his overall record to four wins from six starts.
“He did a good job because he drew wide, carried a big weight, raced without cover and was still good enough to win,” Hayes said.
“He didn’t win by a big margin, but he was never going to lose. We’ll probably keep him at 1,200m with the dash he’s shown, then maybe after Christmas, we’ll look at going longer with the Classic Series in mind.
“He’s just got such tremendous speed, so we may as well use it at this stage. I think he might be able to be a very good lower Class One sprinter. We’ll see at his next start because he’ll have no weight.”
