Premiere blazes the trail
Jockey Karis Teetan reckons he has not ridden 'a horse as fast as that'
Premiere dashed to an exhilarating victory in the Class 2 Kwoon Chung Bus Cup Handicap over 1,000m at Happy Valley on Wednesday night.
"I don't think I've ridden a horse as fast as that, he's so quick," jockey Karis Teetan declared, after the John Size-trained galloper clocked a bullet 56.67sec, the fastest at the course and distance since December 2014.
Last season's Champion Griffin burst from gate 6 in the night's penultimate contest, snared the lead and was never headed.
The Dylan Thomas gelding upped the ante at the top of the stretch, forging on to tow home runner-up Born In China by a comfortable three-quarters of a length.
"He's stronger now as a four-year-old but he won't be aimed at the internationals," Size said, referencing December's Group 1 Longines Hong Kong Sprint over 1,200m.
"He's limited to five furlongs (1,000m) - the 1,200m is too far, so he'll go for the next 1,000m race at Sha Tin."
International Races or not, Teetan believes the New Zealand-bred Premiere has more to give.
"I rode him last season and he's grown up now, the summer break has helped him," the Mauritian rider said of the 2.3 favourite.
"Going forward, he has a nice future in front of him. The thing about him today was that he showed so much speed but then he was still able to quicken. When I pressed him, he responded.
"I was being soft on him at the end, he was going easy. He kept going and he felt like if something came up to him, he would have kicked again, he still had so much in the tank.
"He wasn't the champion griffin for nothing, he has the ability."
The win was Premiere's fifth from 14 Hong Kong starts and made it two from two this campaign. - HKJC
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now
