O'Reilly Rally showcases his raw talent(29 May)

MARK YOUR CARD by MURRAY BELL

Promising young horses seem to be growing on trees in recent weeks and the latest smart one to strut some exciting stuff was O'Reilly Rally at Sha Tin last Thursday.

O'Reilly Rally was handled by Brett Prebble and made a one-act affair of the Sha Tin Heights Handicap, a Class Four race over 1,200 metres, clearing out to score very easily in smart time.

He is trained by Tony Cruz and had raced only once previously, when he ran into some difficulties for third to Laser Tiger and Kung Fu over the same course and distance on April 29.

On that occasion, O'Reilly Rally hit the line locked together with Lifeline Pegasus, but on Thursday he trounced that gelding by three lengths, and was not knocked about in doing so.

Prebble said after the race that O'Reilly Rally did everything on raw ability, because the three-year-old is barely a frame of a horse at this stage and still has a lot of maturing and strengthening to do.

O'Reilly Rally appreciated Prebble's touch and showed much more race sense than he had in the Laser Tiger race.

He began well and had more than enough speed to cross and lead comfortably. In the straight, it was merely a matter of Prebble asking him to lengthen and he did so professionally, posting a time that was 0.65 seconds faster than standard after factoring out the speed of the track.

Apprentice Thomas Yeung Kai-tong made all the right decisions on Step To Win later on the same programme, scoring by two lengths in the Kauo To Shan Handicap after giving his mount every chance.

Almond Lee Yee-tat said later an awkward barrier (nine) had been the reason for Step To Win's defeat at his previous attempt, and the trainer was at pains to point out he did not hold jockey Shane Dye blameworthy.

This race underlined the importance of drawing a good barrier, as Step To Win (one), runner-up Sure Joy (Terry Wong Chi-wai) (two) and third-placed Rich Dragon (Dye) (three).

On Sunday, Down The Wicket continued his impressive rate of improvement with a good second to rejuvenated Whatabob.

Down The Wicket is yet another member of the Lee yard and has gone ahead at every local start since arriving last year.

Down The Wicket was Group One placed in Sydney in the AJC Sires' Produce Stakes (1,400m) at Randwick as a juvenile and it's really only been a matter of Lee getting him right - which he seems to have done - for the smart galloper to well and truly pay his way.