Karis Teetan confident about future after Sha Tin double
HONG Kong-based jockey Karis Teetan believes he might have found a couple of nice thoroughbreds to take him through the remainder of the season.
Teetan scored impressive wins aboard Alcari and Fifty Fifty at Sha Tin on Sunday, with Fifty Fifty scoring a super win in the Class 4 Chung On Handicap.
The Peter Ho-trained runner landed in a good spot for Teetan just behind the leaders, but when the field bunched approaching the home turn, Teetan moved to the centre of the track and it powered away for a 1.5-length win over Racing Supernova.
“They slowed up between the 800m and 400m, so Karis had nowhere to go at the top of the straight,” Ho said. “Luckily, the field was not that strong and he had a feather weight so it didn’t matter too much. But still, to win in the manner he did was very good to see.”
Teetan believes the son of Thorn Park has a bright future ahead of it.
“He’s a small horse, but I think Peter has a nice horse on his hands,” Teetan said. “I did have to shift out at the 300m, but the way that he picked himself up and got moving suggests he’s heading higher.”
Peter Ho has earmarked the some group racing action later this season for Fifty Fifty, but it will likely face class 2 opposition next start.
“I might give him one or two more runs at 1400m, I’ll see how he pulls up,” Ho said. “There are a few 1400m Class 1 and Class 2 races around, and ideally I’d like to run him in Class 2 next time.
“I could see him being a horse who runs in the 1400m (Class 1) on International Day, and then the second half of the season, he might be in group races over a mile.”
Teetan was also a winner with Alcari earlier in the day and he believes it’s another which could contest the bigger races later this season.
“Last season, I jumped him out and I could tell then he was a very nice horse,” Teetan said. “I was just a little bit worried because he always works so good in the mornings, I wasn’t sure what he would have when I let him off the bit. But that was impressive, and Ricky always had a high opinion of him – and he would know too.
“Ricky (Yui) has a great record with these three-year-olds, horses like Fairy King Prawn, Sacred Kingdom and Blizzard. I’m not saying this horse will be as good as them, but he is in the right hands.”