Blizzard to be all the Rage with Purton up

HONG Kong racing enthusiasts can look forward to another hugely exciting and competitive nine-race programme at Happy Valley on Wednesday, featuring the Class Two Chek Lap Kok Handicap (2.15pm) over six furlongs.

Unfortunately, rain may rear its ugly head once again during the action as the forecast is not looking good, with plenty of black clouds set to be hanging over the city throughout the day.

Happy Valley, as always, will have its regular draw bias on the ‘C’ track, with gallopers drawn from nine to 12 in six-furlong sprints having a poor record, and it’s a similar story in extended mile contests where outside gates 11 and 12 have only mustered two wins between them in the last three seasons.

Former 12-time champion trainer John Size has made his normal slow start to the season with just four victories since the season started in September.

Size always gradually builds his gallopers up to peak fitness and it is around this time that the stable starts firing on all cylinders.

Once upon a time, the stable rarely had many runners at the city track with the ‘Master Trainer’ only concentrating on getting winners at Sha Tin, but times have changed, and the yard are sending a strong party of half-a-dozen raiders to the Valley.

There’s no doubt the stable’s RAGING BLIZZARD spearheads the challenge in the main event at 2.15pm, with the eye-catching booking of Zac Purton back in the saddle.

The Size and Purton partnership has been the go-to combination for bettors over many years, and they have provided supporters with plenty of rich dividends in that time.

This season however, with Purton in his quest to overhaul Douglas Whyte as the winning-most jockey in Hong Kong and only fleetingly riding for the stable, their record is two wins and two places from just nine rides, but expect plenty more success to come in the near future.

Raging Blizzard went into notebooks on his seasonal run, his first for over seven months, when a close-up third from an outside draw to course specialist Copartner Prance with Brenton Avdulla aboard at the end of last month.

That was an ideal prep for this contest and now with an inside draw of four, and recent track work reports suggesting he has improved further, he should take a lot of beating.

The Size stable could have already struck gold earlier on the card when TAKE ACTION, a well-bred son of Group One winner Sacred Falls, gets his chance to record his first win in the Yuen Long Handicap (11.10am) over the extended mile.

The four-year-old has taken some time to acclimatise to conditions since arriving from New Zealand but has looked a different galloper following the summer break.

Three races over inadequate trips have bought him to peak fitness, and he will take some stopping from his favourable mark in the handicap.

POINTERS

Take Action           11.10am          Happy Valley

Raging Blizzard      2.15pm          Happy Valley