Caspar Fownes launched his bid for back-to-back trainers’ championships with a double at the first Happy Valley meeting of the season on Wednesday night courtesy of Jumbo Blessing and No Other Choice.
Living up to his moniker as ‘the King of the Valley’, Fownes struck with $49.9 outsider No Other Choice in the second section of the Class Five Admiralty Handicap (1,200m) before Jumbo Blessing justified his handler’s confidence with a strong victory first up without a trial.
Despite starting slowly in the Class Four Kowloon Tong Handicap (1,000m), Jumbo Blessing sprinted powerfully down the centre of the track under Vincent Ho Chak-yiu to run down the heavily backed $4.5 equal favourite, Superb King, by three-quarters of a length.
“I honestly thought he’d just be winning, the way he’s been working in the mornings,” Fownes said after Jumbo Blessing backed up his first career success at the Valley at the end of last season.
“I didn’t even trial him, I said ‘he’s ready to go to the races’. He’s still being a little bit tricky, but he’s starting to understand what his job is.
