Callan renews partnership with Helene Happy Star
Hong Kong-based jockey Neil Callan will renew his partnership with Helene Happy Star in the Group 3 Sa Sa Ladies Purse at Sha Tin on Sunday.
Callan won aboard Helene Happy Star in the 2015 Queen Mother Memorial Cup, but has only ridden the six-year-old in one start since. That came two starts back when it finished last in a field of seven and considering it holds a nomination in the Group 1 Hong Kong Vase, Callan is expected to see something better this time around.
“Helene Happy Star was a very good winner of the Queen Mother Memorial Cup a couple of seasons back, he’s ran numerous good races since but he just hasn’t lit the board up,” Callan said.
“I’d imagine John (Moore, trainer) has further targets for him so this would probably be a race to see where he’s at, but it’s a good race for him. He’’s very versatile and he can lead, so if it’s a messy race we know he’ll get a true-run race for himself.”
Callan rode race-rival Anticipation to victory last time out, but at the weights, he chose to ride the proven Helene Happy Star. Craig Williams rode a double at Flemington on Saturday and has flown over to take over from Callan, who expects it to be competitive.
“Anticipation was a very impressive winner for me last time,” Callan said. “He got the right trip, he travelled extremely well, and the plan was to take him out in the middle of the track away from other horses because of his previous antics, trying to bite horses.
“In that respect, by the time he’d hit the front halfway down the straight, he was racing on his own and he ran straight through the line, he didn’t stop.
“Going up in this class he’s going to have to improve a bit but his overseas form was quite strong, so you’d like to think if he could go in that sort of direction, he should be able to hold his own.”
Callan also commented on the chances of Eastern Express which finished second behind Anticipation last start.
“Eastern Express looks still to be a work in progress, and off that rating you can see why John (Size) would be willing to put him in a highly-competitive race. But I think if everything falls right, the way Anticipation won last time, if everything goes smoothly, I don’t see why the horse can’t improve off his first run, too,” Callan said.
The Sa Sa Ladies Purse runs at 7.05pm on Sunday evening where a classy field of 14 runners will line up.