Famed as the only horse to have beaten champion sprinter Ka Ying Rising, Wunderbar (128lb) catapulted John Size closer to a record-extending 13th Hong Kong trainers` championship with a devastating return to form at Sha Tin on Saturday (14 June).



Twice victorious over Ka Ying Rising in the pair`s three-year-old season, Wunderbar had bone fragments removed from a knee in January, 2024 – a day after his second triumph over the horse now acclaimed as the world`s highest-rated sprinter – and has endured a rollercoaster since.



As Ka Ying Rising advanced to a perfect, eight-win 2024/25 season while claiming four Group 1s, Wunderbar has taken a less celebrated path, notching a pair of early-season wins before finishing out of the placings at his past three runs.



Ridden conservatively by Hugh Bowman in the HK$2.84 million Class 2 HKU Business School And Faculty Of Engineering Handicap (1200m), the chestnut showed his quality after settling midfield in the 11-horse field behind Bottomuptogether (133lb) before sweeping through a gap in the straight to down stablemate Raging Blizzard (135lb) and Harmony N Blessed (115lb) in 1m 08.12s.



The gelding`s seventh victory in 12 starts propelled Size to 63 wins for the season, nine clear of David Hayes (54) with only eight meetings left in the campaign, and presented more evidence of the master horseman`s elite craftmanship.



“He`s been over-racing a little bit and I gave him a break and that didn`t work, so I had to do something else. Then he had a couple of trials and was fine. He didn`t race for four months last time fresh and this time he was perfect - right tempo and everything went well for him,” Size said.



Bowman was also impressed with Wunderbar`s performance.



“He was great. He had a bit in his favour. He had a track bias – the fence was like gold – he had barrier one, he`s obviously got abundant natural pace and he got the conditions to suit today,” Bowman said.



“He was able to settle mid-race and he was able to provide the finish which he`d been lacking. He won with authority. Full credit to him.”



Ellis Wong`s allowance will be reduced from 7lb to 5lb after the apprentice`s rich form streak continued with a double. Wong, 24, scored with Pierre Ng`s first starter Aerovolanic in the Class 4 HKU Heritage Handicap (1200m) before delivering a perfect ride on Caspar Fownes-trained Joy Of Sprint in the Class 3 HKU Foundation Handicap (1800m).



With 10 wins from the start of May, Wong took his Hong Kong career total past 45 victories, triggering a drop in his allowance. "It`s good for Ellis - next week he becomes a five-pound claimer so we wish him the best of luck, he`s riding really well. Hopefully my friend trainers will give him some more support,” Fownes said.



The battle for the Tony Cruz Award for leading homegrown jockey narrowed after Matthew Chadwick posted his 32nd win of the season to trail Matthew Poon (36 wins) after scoring aboard Chris So`s Hinokami Kagura in the Class 4 HKU Faculties Of Dentistry And Social Sciences Handicap (1200m, dirt).



The All Out maintained his unbeaten record for Jamie Richards, making it two wins in a row with success in the HKU Faculties Of Arts And Education Plate (1000m) for Griffins. Ridden by Zac Purton, the Brutal two-year-old clocked a sizzling 55.84s with a strong trailing breeze after starting from barrier two.



“He was good because it`s very hard to win from that side of the track,” Purton said. “He did a really good job to be working the whole way to some extent and then hold them off.”



Brutal completed a double when David Eustace-trained Truly Fluke charged late to clinch the second section of the Class 4 University Hall Handicap (1400m) under Andrea Atzeni.



“He`s a beautiful horse and we took a punt today to go forward from a wide gate (barrier 13). I just felt if we went back, he`d probably run well without being a chance of winning. He got a beautiful ride and he`s a nice horse for next season,” Eustace said.



“I`d like to think he`ll work his way through the grades a little bit. Obviously, it`s hard to know how far they get, but he`ll stay a mile no problem and probably doesn`t need to go further than that at this stage. That might just do him for the season, but we`ll see how he comes through it.”



Atzeni made it a double with a brilliant ride on Mojave Desert, who claimed a PP Bonus of HK$1.5 million by winning the Class 3 HKU Jockey Club Student Villages Handicap (1200m, dirt) for Mark Newnham.



Tony Cruz scored a double with Hong Kong International Sale graduates Smart Beauty and Kingly Demeanor. Smart Beauty notched his fifth win by clinching the Class 5 HKU Faculties Of Law And Medicine Handicap (1600m) under Angus Chung before Kingly Demeanor led all the way under Keith Yeung to win the Class 4 HKU Faculties of Architecture And Science Handicap (1800m).



Francis Lui and Jerry Chau combined successfully with Harold Win in the Class 4 Hong Kong University Alumni Association Challenge Cup Handicap (1400m) before Purton bookended the meeting with an easy win on Manfred Man`s Patch Of Stars in the Class 4 Hong Kong Jockey Club Scholarships Handicap (1400m).



With Royal Ascot on this week from Tuesday, 17 June until Saturday, 21 June, Hong Kong racing continues at Sha Tin on Sunday, 22 June with the running of the HK$4.2 million G3 Premier Cup Handicap (1400m) and HK$4.2 million G3 Premier Plate Handicap (1800m).