Size gaining some late momentum(16 Jan)

MARK YOUR CARD by MURRAY BELL

A winning double and an excellent performance by Derby-bound Plastic Polymer in the final race at Sha Tin on Sunday suggest that reigning champion trainer John Size is emerging from one of the quieter periods in his illustrious career and will be making up time in a hurry.

The victories of Luminous in the seventh event (Class Four, 1,400m) was fairly easy to predict, as the chestnut was fitter for recent racing and had worked his way out of Class Three and back into the more suitable lower grade.

But the first-up victory of All Chances after a break of 91 days in the Pok Oi Cup was a real tribute to the Australian horseman.

All Chances' last win was in Class Three on a mark of 75. Although it was a narrow one, the six-pound rehandicap saw him just pop over the Class Three benchmark to a rating of 81 and basically the Pins gelding just doesn't have the acceleration of a Class Two horse.

But that one point relief he received from the handicappers after his fifth to Red Pepper at his previous start in October saw him drop back to the easier grade where he is so much more comfortable.

It was a good performance, too, and fitted perfectly on ratings alongside his last win in April when, under the guidance of Douglas Whyte, All Chances toughed it out over the Sha Tin 1,800 metres circuit to an every-chance victory over Noble Heart and Amsterdam.

Generally, the Size horses improve with racing but All Chances is one horse who has previously shown that he enjoys a bit of space between his races. His previous three wins, for example, had been 28, 27 and 41 days respectively between races.

Before this meeting, Size was going through a quiet period by his high-achieving standards. He'd prepared just seven winners from his previous 100 runners and many of them weren't performing even close to their previous season's form.

But having five years in Hong Kong for four trainers' premierships and a second in Tony Cruz's record-breaking year (2004-05) should have proved that Size is made of pretty resilient stuff and that a turnaround was statistically imminent.

Plastic Polymer is an interesting horse, who performed well under MJ Odendaal for second to the very promising Vital King. There can be no excuse on the ground of horsemanship because Odendaal gave him the run of the race and peeled into the clear at just the right time.

But the overwhelming conclusion is that this former South Australian Derby runner-up is quickly adapting to his new environment and well on the way to winning a nice race for connections.