A relieved Caspar Fownes hopes he has turned a corner for the remainder of the season after he fired in a Sha Tin treble for the first time in nearly three years on Saturday.
Fresh off his 1,100th Hong Kong win on Wednesday at Happy Valley, Fownes lit up Sha Tin’s 10-race programme thanks to the victories of Charming Steed, Galvanic and Sky Heart.
It was a welcome haul for Fownes, who moved to 40 wins for the season with 23 meetings remaining.
“The horses have been racing well all season and it just hasn’t been coming together,” Fownes said. “It gets very frustrating but we don’t lose our cool, that’s why we’re in this business.
“It’s the greatest leveller of all time, so we just knuckle down and keep presenting the horses in good condition and hope it starts to turn your way. Hopefully that’s the start of the turning of the tide.”
The 56-year-old handler’s treble was headlined by the unexposed three-year-old Sky Heart, who impressively made all in the Class Three Sustainability Handicap (1,400m) under Keith Yeung Ming-lun.
“We decided to go forward and see what happens,” Fownes said. “The horse has done it nicely in the end and he’s a horse with a very bright future – we felt that from his first start.
“We were quite confident. We respected [Patch Of Theta] a lot because he’s a proper horse, but you just need things to fall your way when you’re drawn a bit wide.”
A winner of one of his four previous starts, Sky Heart jumped to the head of the field from stall 11 before galloping his rivals into submission on the rain-softened ground.
After the one-and-a-quarter-length victory, Fownes was not afraid to express his lofty expectations for the son of Ardrossan heading into next season.
“He’s shown a lot of tenacity today and it was a good effort,” Fownes said. “Hopefully he’ll keep progressing and next season he could probably be a 100-point horse.”
While the “King of the Valley” is no stranger to firing in the winners at the city circuit, Saturday’s achievements marked the conditioner’s first treble at Sha Tin since he collected four victories in June 2021.
Fownes opened his account for the afternoon when Vincent Ho Chak-yiu steered the well-backed Charming Steed to a two-and-a-half length victory in the Class Five Racing For Charity Handicap (1,650m).
Galvanic notched the second leg of Fownes’ treble in the Class Four Positive Ageing Handicap (1,650m) under Ellis Wong Chi-wan.
After settling in midfield, Galvanic made steady headway under pressure and hit the front 200m out. Kicking for home soon after, the four-year-old held on from the fast-finishing Starship Eighty.
Fownes came close to adding another win to his tally, with runner-up Joy Of Spring a neck away from victory after finding plenty of trouble in transit in the Class Four Healthy Community Handicap (1,600m).
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“We were a bit unlucky with Joy Of Spring earlier – he should’ve brought up the four-timer – but any time in Hong Kong you’re winning two or three races you’re happy because it’s getting tougher over here,” Fownes said.
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