The third run did not quite give way to the celebration his bubbly name would suggest, but Hip Hip Hooray probably had a valid excuse for the damper – the wet track.
At least his trainer David Kok was of the firm opinion it was the rain-affected surface that was the main conviction behind the poor run – compared to his smashing debut win followed by his close second to Poseidon next time out - compounded by a wide trip punching the breeze.
From barrier 13, jockey Glen Boss tried to slot the Tavistock five-year-old into a good spot but with the horses on the inside in an unrelenting mood, they ended up being caught on a limb three wide just off the leading bunch for most of the 1200m trip of the Benchmark 89 race on January 2.
Hip Hip Hooray was pushed out even wider upon straightening, before it soon became clear the Joe Singh-owned New Zealand-bred was not going to take part in the finish this time as he faded out of the race, to wind up 10th around seven lengths off the impressive winner Storm Troops.
After Kok and Boss combined for a double with Major Advancement and Racing Talent on New Year’s Day, that sound defeat the day after with the horse considered as their best chance of the week did take a bit of the gloss away. They actually went quiet thereafter, though Boss has added three more wins of his own (Peach Bowl, Miss Waimataitai, Big Guardian).
Kok said the relocation to a temporary block while waiting for the retrofitting of his stables be completed has somewhat slowed down the preparation of his horses, hence the subsequent small teams he sent to the races, but he is hoping Hip Hip Hooray can help him regather his momentum in the $100,000 Longevity Stakes, an Open Benchmark 83 race over 1100m, even if the task looks daunting on paper.
“It looks like a very tough race with a lot of good horses in it. Wonderful and Distinctive Darci are both very good horses who will be hard to beat,” said Kok.
“But my horse has maintained his fitness levels since his last run. I went easy on him as he was fit enough.
“You can forget he ran last time. He cannot handle went tracks, and Boss said the same thing when he jumped off.
“I also found out that he did not like soft tracks back in Australia. I’m learning about this horse, but he definitely has ability.
“From his bad gate (13), he was also caught wide with no cover, and did not have the same kick in the straight. He is better drawn in six this time.
“He has pulled up well from his last run and fingers crossed, I expect him to run better on Monday.”
Like all local Chinese trainers, Kok is banking on the upcoming Lunar New Year to usher in better luck to his yard at the Sunday-Monday meetings where he is fielding five runners in either.
“We started the year with a double, but we’ve had no winners since,” said the ninth-year handler.
“But it’s okay as I was not expecting much with only a handful of runners at the meetings that followed afterwards.
“Our horses have had a few issues, and we have also moved to a new stable before our block is ready to move back in around March. It’s business as usual and I hope the New Year brings back the luck soon.”
