Lui thrusts himself into Hong Kong title race with Sha Tin treble

Francis Lui catapulted himself into the thick of Hong Kong’s fiercest trainers’ championship battle in years after producing a timely treble at Sha Tin on Sunday.

The three-win haul made Lui the only trainer among the leading contenders to strike at the meeting, lifting him to 50 victories for the season and into fourth place behind Danny Shum (54), Mark Newnham (52) and Caspar Fownes (51), with David Hayes on 48 and reigning champion John Size on 46.

Lui opened his account in the first section of the Class 4 Luk Wu Handicap (1200m), where Zac Purton guided Superb Spirit carrying 127lb to victory as the champion jockey edged closer to the 2000-win milestone in Hong Kong.

With 16 meetings remaining in the campaign, the trainers’ title race remains finely poised, with just eight wins separating the top six handlers entering the final stretch of the season.

Size kept his slim hopes of defending the crown alive in the final event on the card when Brilliant Express, ridden by Hugh Bowman, claimed the second section of the Class 3 Siu Ma Shan Handicap (1400m) for his fourth career success and first win in more than a year.