David Hall’s BMW Hong Kong Derby Runner

David Hall plans to lead Atullibigeal in the HK$24 million BMW Hong Kong Derby on March 19 after winning the Class 3 TVB Midlife, Sing & Shine Handicap at Sha Tin under Hugh Bowman on Sunday afternoon.

Atullibigeal went a mile for the first time in his career and once again raised the bar with flying colors to cap a brilliant day for Hall, who scored a four while Bowman collected a running three to seal the 10-race game end .

“In any case, the derby will be the goal. I think he will run the distance and he has enough points there – he is a worthy runner.

“I think today’s win will guarantee him a run (in the BMW Hong Kong Derby). He won’t compete in the (Hong Kong) Classic Cup and what route we’re going to take to get there – I’m not sure yet,” Hall said.

Atullibigeal – rated 78 ahead of this afternoon’s win – celebrated his second Hong Kong triumph for Hall and Bowman after arriving as a two-time winner from New Zealand.

“He’s shown a lot at home – he’s full of raw ability and today it was a tricky draw and there was quite a bit of pressure early on which we didn’t quite anticipate.

“I had visions of doing a more positive race with him but that got out of my hands so I just let him find his rhythm and he just got through really well, I had a smooth passage and he eased off really well” said Bogenman.

The improving Street Boss son dragged 133lbs from goal 12 of 14 to victory today, posting a winning time of 1m34.99s at odds of 9/1 before a quick finish astounding win that saw Prince Alex third.

“I think he’s got better classes ahead of him, but he’s not quite done yet, but, take my word for it, he takes his job really seriously and I’m really proud of him,” Bowman said.

The first of Bowman’s treble came today when running glory trainer John Size snatched the first Class 2 TVB Cup handicap (2000m).

Running Glory (135lb) – who tips the scales at 980lb – is short in stature but big at heart Patch (120lb) at 2m 03.41s.

“He’s a nice horse, he’s very consistent – he had a top weight to deal with and that was the biggest concern,” Bowman said. “There wasn’t much room on either side and I waited until I got closer, I waited for death to decide. I had the horse and am very proud of him.”

The middle of Bowman’s trio came aboard Goko Win in Class 3 of the TVB Wai Yin Association Special Handicap (1200m) at odds of 30/1 for trainer Dennis Yip.

Prince Of Porty extended his unbeaten record to two with a comfortable win under Zac Purton – who also bagged a triple – in 1m08.82s for Hall in the Class 4 TVB Tung Wah Charity Show Handicap (1200m).

“He had the right goal just to take praise in a spot where he was comfortable. The speed was pretty solid so he got into a good rhythm and could just do what he wanted – it was a good effort but he’s still learning,” said Purton.

Hall has no concerns about Prince Of Porty’s ability to be competitive in Class 3.

“I think the day he faced Campione in Happy Valley showed us that he is a little better than a Class 4 horse. It was a good test that day and now he’s put it together – I think Class 3 is very achievable for him,” Hall said.

Purton previously rode Flying Mojito to Hall’s breakthrough win in Class 4 TVB Po Leung Kuk Gala Spectacular Handicap (1600m).

“We will continue to increase his gap and stay in the class. It wasn’t a big lead today and hopefully another win is on the horizon,” said Hall.

Purton started his trio with victory for Jamie Richards in the Class 5 TVB Charity Fund Handicap (1400m) aboard the Fortune Master.

Hall’s quartet came from seven runners, with Beluga beginning his outstanding afternoon under Matthew Poon by winning Class 1 of the TVB Yan Oi Tong Charity Show Handicap (1400m) ahead of Beauty Joy with three quarters of a length in 1:21.75 seconds .

“He’s very honest, very consistent and this time in Class 1 he was light weight (113lbs) so I thought he had a chance in this race,” said Poon. “We positioned him exactly where we expected and everything went very smoothly – he deserved this win.”

Fresh from winning the QAT Gr1 HH The Amir Trophy (2400m) in Doha, Qatar with the Russian Emperor – Douglas Whyte wanted to enjoy a win on home soil and he did just that as Carroll Street clinched a sustained trillion dollar win with a short head refused in class 2 TVB Pok Oi Charity Show Handicap (1000 m) in 55.85 seconds.

“He stopped there pretty quickly, Douglas warned me ‘if he scores up front he will stop’. He hasn’t ridden in eight months but leading up to this race he’s been trying hard and I’ve been sitting as long as I can up to the 200 meter mark.

“His fitness will improve and it’s nice to have a win for Douglas – he’s on cloud nine now so it’s wonderful,” Teetan said.

Matthew Chadwick enjoyed a sweet victory in the Class 4 Tung Wah Celebrity Show Handicap (2000m) this afternoon aboard Tony Millard-trained Super Hong Kong.

The win initiated a doubles for Chadwick, who later scored on Flying High for trainer Chris So in Class 4 TVB Yan Chai Charity Show Handicap (1000m).

“It was just a little bit unfortunate. That guy (Super Hong Kong) – he was very fit and healthy in the morning, he had the right run and got off well,” said Chadwick.

Facing an excellent drive from the 32-year-old, Super Hong Kong bagged deep to give Chadwick his first win from injury and also snatched his coach’s recent outs.

“I want to say a special thank you to my loyal owners because those guys sat there and supported me – thank them because it wasn’t easy, I can tell you I was just really happy to win today,” said Millard.

“It was very tough this season – in 37 years of racing we’ve never had it like this. It’s just one of those things, our stable was hit by the perfect storm – we had COVID and we didn’t buy (horses) and then we just lacked the young horses to come through,” Millard said. “I think our luck has turned and we’re looking forward to a good end to the season – may we still have many winners.”

• Hong Kong racing resumes this Wednesday 22nd February at Happy Valley.