PAIR OF NEWCOMERS MAKE FIRST APPEARANCES COUNT

Horsepower and Young Emperor shine as trainer Eustace, three jockeys enjoy double

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HONG KONG – Victories by a pair of Hong Kong debutants – Horsepower and Young Emperor – highlighted the Happy Valley meeting on Oct 27 when trainer David Eustace and jockeys Vincent Ho, Zac Purton and Luke Ferraris shone with doubles.

Formerly known as Fire Follower when prepared in Australia by Anthony and Sam Freedman, the Frankie Lor-trained Horsepower earned a Pre-import Performance (PP) Bonus of HK$1.5 million (S$255,000) after sweeping to victory in the Class 3 Zhuhai Handicap (1,000m) under Purton.

Raced by the Hong Kong Jockey Club's chairman Michael Lee and his wife Vanessa, Horsepower impressed seven-time champion jockey Purton despite the Harry Angel gelding's waywardness.

“It was a really good effort because he didn't break as well as I was hoping he was going to,” said Purton. “I was in an awkward spot – I couldn't press forward, I couldn't come back to get in. In the straight, he wanted to keep hanging in and running in on me, so he made it difficult for me.”