Francis Lui produced a timely treble at Sunday’s (17 May) Sha Tin meeting to fire himself into contention in one of the most hotly contested trainers’ championships in memory.

Lui was the only handler among the leading five to score, and with 16 meetings left in the season, the hat-trick lifted him into fourth spot on 50 wins, behind championship leader Danny Shum (54), Mark Newnham (52) and Caspar Fownes (51). David Hayes has 48 wins, while defending champion John Size has 46.

Lui’s first win came in the first section of the Class 4 Luk Wu Handicap (1200m) when Zac Purton piloted Superb Spirit (127lb) to victory to inch closer to his 2,000-win milestone. Three-year-old Superb Spirit made good on the promise displayed in a series of trial wins and a debut fourth in April to overhaul Lucrative Eight (129lb) late on.

“(Superb Spirit) is a nice horse,” Lui said. “In the future, I think he will stay further as he has a big stride. Hopefully, he can be a Classic Mile horse in time.”

The 2023/24 Hong Kong Champion Trainer then combined with Vincent Ho to claim a race-to-race double and the meeting’s trophy contest, the Class 3 Hong Kong Lions Cup Handicap (1200m), as Thunder Kit (124lb) got off the mark in Hong Kong after a series of near misses.

“He’s still green,” Lui said. “But the more he races, the more he matures.

“If you look at his form, he seems to have potential.”

The hat-trick was completed when Meaningful Dragon (131lb) became the biggest-priced winner of the day, scoring at odds of 15/1 under Luke Ferraris, to scoop the first section of the Class 4 Lung Fu Shan Handicap (1400m).

“I told Luke to be positive,” Lui said. “It doesn’t matter whether he is two-wide or three-wide, he keeps trying and fighting.

“It’s getting exciting, the championship is so competitive, and I will just try to keep my horses performing,” Lui added.

By Paul Ryding

Photo: HKJC