Innovative Rispoli remains unbeaten on front runner
Umberto Rispoli maintained a perfect record on Richard Gibson-trained Club Life when he put himself into Class Two with a classy all-the-way win and the Italian utilised an unorthodox technique to keep the sometimes wayward performer closer to the running rail. "This horse hangs out and he just doesn't like the rail," said Rispoli, who won on the horse late last season. "He already has a special bit, but instead of trying to steer him to the fence I used my bodyweight and leaned in that direction, and it seemed to work well. The problem isn't his mouth, it's in his head - but once he matures a little bit I think he can win again up in grade."
So, Chadwick receive Christmas gift with reluctant winner
Matthew Chadwick quipped that "neither horse wanted to win" after he fought out a ferocious battle with Zac Purton in a Class Four dirt race, with Chris So Wai-yin's Kingston Jumbo just edging out Medic Kingdom. "I didn't think I had won to be honest, it was just a bob of a head," Chadwick said. "My horse dashed like he was going to get there easily, but he just levelled out. Maybe I had to use him too much early on." So was relieved to get a result with a maiden galloper that had risen out of Class Five on the back of two consecutive placings. "He ran well at his last two but I'm glad he didn't make it three seconds in a row. I think that was my Christmas present," he said.
Slow start but Callan gets job done on Me Tsui's four-year-old
Neil Callan felt like he was on the wrong horse once the gates opened on Class Five winner Gold Precious, who has shown enough pace to lead sprint races but wanted to go at a waltz in the early stages over 1,400m. "He works well but he is very keen and shows a lot of speed usually. But when he jumped out today I had to chase him a little bit to take up a forward position," Callan said after his first ride on Me Tsui Yu-sak's four-year-old. "He is looking for a race with some tempo and I think that will help." The win gave Callan 23 for the season and kept him in fourth position behind the "big three" of Joao Moreira (45), Zac Purton (36) and Douglas Whyte (28).
