REWARDING BUDDY

On May 13th, a turf trial over 800m at Conghua showed moderate performance running along the rail. Prior to July, this horse ran poorly in a Sha Tin 1200m race, tracking the early pace with a steady speed but lacking a finishing kick. After a long break, it underwent one barrier trial with unremarkable results. Switching to Happy Valley over 1200m for its debut at this distance, it will carry two pounds less this time; however, the distance is unfavorable and it lacks strong finishing speed. The horse’s current form isn't ideal and the trainer-jockey combination is not well established. Despite drawing a favorable barrier and potentially leading, jockey Matthew Chadwick has limited understanding of the horse’s capabilities and it should be considered a trial run only.