MASTER ALBERT

10th June 2018

It has taken longer than anyone expected but Price Bloodstock’s Master Albert finally broke through for his first Hong Kong win in impressive style on Sunday at Sha Tin and the future is looking bright.

Almost a year to the day since Master Albert looked an unlucky third in the same race in his Hong Kong debut, the four-year-old unleashed a big sprint to catch and then run away from some smart types over the Sha Tin 1200m.

After 11 prior runs for 5 placings and 4 other prizemoney cheques, Master Albert had already banked more than $1,1 million in stakes without winning, but trainer Chris So was relieved to get the first win finally on the board.

“Really, he has run well or been unlucky every start here – it has been very frustrating to go so long without winning a race,” So said. “I think we’ve learned a little bit about him along the way. He isn’t a horse you can light up early, he has to be left alone and allowed to find his feet. And sometimes that means a bad draw makes him unlucky, or he gets the pacing against him.”

But that wasn’t the case on Sunday, with a good speed and the return to the bigger track at Sha Tin after a series of unlucky Happy Valley runs.

That allowed jockey Derek Leung to leave the gelding along in the early stages before unfurling a big finish and Master Albert won quite comfortably at the finish.

“He has taken his time to get it figured out but now that he has won, he does look like he can win again,” So said.