Classic Unicorn (NZ) (Per Incanto) sealed a Chris So double with a smart win in Wednesday night’s Happy Valley feature, the Class 2 High Island Handicap (1000m), justifying his trainer’s belief that this could be the promising chestnut’s ‘coming-of-age’ campaign.
After an unbeaten debut season, the five-year-old son of Per Incanto mixed his form last term but saw off a strong field of sprinters at Happy Valley to take his eye-catching record to four wins from eight starts.
“He’s five years old now, he’s calmer, he’s mature, and he has more confidence,” So said. “This year he has put on weight, because the last two years he was quite skinny but after the summertime, he’s come back different.”
Jockey Derek Leung fired the gelding out of gate 10 to skip along close to the speed and had to work for the lead before pouring on the pressure at the 550m mark. The speedster kicked on in the straight to score by one and three-quarter lengths ahead of the fast-finishing Gunnison and third-placed Multimillion.
“He’s more relaxed, he still has the early speed but it’s not crazy and that’s why he can finish off – he’s older now, mentally stronger and everything about him, he’s just grown up,” Leung said.
“Because he has so much early speed, if someone challenged him, he would fight back and not give up, that’s why he used to use too much energy early. We went fast but he felt as if he had something left, I had confidence in him.”
A New Zealand Bloodstock Ready To Run Sale graduate, Classic Unicorn arrived in Hong Kong from New Zealand, after winning a trial for trainer Karen Fursdon as a Private Purchase Griffin (unraced horse) and since then has risen 31 points in the ratings.
“I think both tracks are fine, it depends on his rating now, because Happy Valley has the bend, we think it does suit him more, but we’ll discuss it with the owner,” So said.
