Improving stayer Packing Hurricane shoots for a fourth consecutive win when he lines up in Wednesday evening’s (28 June) HK$1.9 million Class 3 Aster Handicap (2200m) at Happy Valley.
Ridden to victory in his last two starts by jockey Harry Bentley, the Caspar Fownes-trained Packing Hurricane has been a revelation of late with a hat-trick of wins over 2000m. He heads to Happy Valley for the first time after exclusively racing at Sha Tin in eight previous outings.
“He is not a big horse physically, but he’s got a big heart and he tries very hard. He’s hit a purple patch of form and Caspar has him in great order,” Bentley said.
The 75-rater arrived in Hong Kong as a two-time winner pre-import for trainer David O’Meara in Great Britain, scoring at Chepstow and Hamilton over a mile under the name Shawnee Warrior.
The four-year-old gelding by Mondialiste steps beyond 2000m for the first time tomorrow night.
“It seems like the further he goes the better, he just keeps on galloping, and he only does what he needs to do – the trip (2220m) is not an issue whatsoever. If you look at his wins, he’s only won by small margins each time but he does just enough,” Bentley said.
Packing Hurricane (133lb) faces six rivals at the Valley: Above (128lb), Swan Bay (127lb), Serangoon (123lb), Turin Mascot (123lb), Hit The Shot (121lb) and Total Power (120lb).
“Hopefully he can carry that little bit of extra weight again. He’s not a big horse, so that bigger weight is not ideal for him but that goes with the territory of knocking back three wins,” Bentley said.
Packing Hurricane is the lightest horse in the contest with a body weight of 978lb. He breaks from gate one on Wednesday night.
Bentley has formed a fruitful partnership with Fownes and takes a trio of rides for the handler at the midweek fixture.
“Caspar’s a great trainer to get any support from. It’s great that I’ve been able to bang a few winners in for him this season and he continues to give me some support which is great – I have some nice rides for him on Wednesday,” Bentley said.
The 31-year-old also pairs with Young Life Forever for Fownes in the first section of the Class 4 Dianthus Handicap (1200m) before getting the leg-up on Charming Steed in the second section of the Class 4 Dianthus Handicap (1200m).
“He’s (Charming Steed) extremely consistent, he’s finished second in his last three runs. I’ve got a bit of a wider draw (barrier nine) than ideal but he’s run well from barrier 10 before, so he’s got a bit of gate speed and is another who comes into the race in good order,” Bentley said.
Bentley has 53 career wins in Hong Kong and is the midst of another productive term with 23 victories in the bag. His mounts have earned HK$39.39 million for connections this season.
“I’m definitely happy with how things are going. The season has been a bit of a rollercoaster having gone through patches of having a few winners to it being a bit quiet. I’d like to have a bit more consistency with the winners coming in but all in all it’s not been bad,” Bentley said.
The difficult cauldron of Hong Kong racing is a tough but rewarding nut to crack feels Bentley.
“Trying to build that support network in Hong Kong is very tough. But at the same time there are plenty of rewards and whatever the difficulties, they’re outweighed by the benefits,” he said.
Wednesday’s (28 June) nine-race fixture at Happy Valley kicks off with the Class 3 Aster Handicap (2200m) at 6.45pm.
By Declan Schuster, HKJC
