Sheng Li Superstar lived right up to his name with a brave front running effort to win his first Group race in Macau in taking out Sunday’s Group 2 Spring Trophy over 1500 metres.

Sheng Li Superstar was fired out of the gates by Luis Corrales who quickly showed his rival jockeys he was intent on leading; with Lover Paradise (Roger Yu) surrendering the front Corrales was then able to steady the speed in the back and take control of the race.

Race favorite Pearl Green was always handy in second spot under Fausto Henrique and came to win the race soon after straightening, however Sheng Li Superstar showed great tenacity under siege to fight back after being headed to prevail on the line by a head from Pearl Green, with Bring Me Speed (Shogo Nakano) three quarters of a length away in third.

Prepared nowadays by Stanley Chin, Sheng Li Superstar made it win number seven in Macau with five minor placings from his 15 runs here, and lifted his prize money to over $2 million HKD.

A son of the unbeaten Harbour Watch (Ire), Sheng Li Superstar was formerly trained in Victoria by Henry Dwyer were he won a Geelong Maiden on the all weather track by six lengths from only four runs in Australia.

The now five year old has been a real bargain for his owner Mr. Frank Wong with four brilliant wins on the sand, and now three on the turf in distances from 1050 metres to Sundays 1500 metre event.

The win gave Panamanian born Luis Corrales a treble for the afternoon in taking out the first three races.

Corrales won the first of the day the Class 5 & 6 over 1500 metres on Peter Leyshan’s promising three year old King Of Champions, who donkey licked his opponents to win by three and three quarter lengths.

Rivalry from the Victor Chan stable was the second winner for Corrales, when he did a good job from his wide gate barrier nine to worry pace-maker Thar (Shogo Nakano) out of victory in the Class 2 & 3 over 1200 metres.

After Sundays treble Corrales a former four time Champion jockey in Macau is in equal first spot with Roger Yu on 23 wins. Brazilian Fausto Henrique is in third spot on 20, with Frenchman J B Hamel in fourth on 19 victories.

No jockey is riding better in recent weeks then Frenchman J B Hamel who booted home another winning double on Sunday’s racecard.

Hamel pulled off a surprise win on the $181.00 longshot Gorgeous Bomb who scored an easy victory in the Class 2 & 3 over 1200 metres.

Prepared by Danny Wong, Gorgeous Bomb beat Electroplate Alloy (Roger Yu); with Draft Camp (Fausto Henrique) who was shooting for four straight victories close up in third.

Gorgeous Bomb is a former New Zealand galloper that raced there as Copper Mine when trained at Cambridge by Catherine Cameron. Copper Mine won two of his ten runs in NZ at Ruakaka and Te Rapa both at 1200 metres and placed second on two more occasions.

Sundays win and his run time suggest the son of All Too Hard (Aus) will more than pay his way in Macau.

Association One from the Stanley Chin yard gave Hamel his second win for the day when he produced a perfect ride to win the Class 3 & 4 over 1800 metres.

Irish bred Association One was having his seventh run in Macau but was for Sundays race stepping up to a suitable distance for the first time. The gelding had raced in the UK under the name of New Orleans where he had 13 runs for a win at Wolverhampton and placed on five other occasions.

The win also gave Stanley Chin a double for the afternoon.

Hamel enjoyed his biggest day in Macau with a four timer on February 22nd and followed that up with an another four winners over the 6th and 7th weekend race meetings.

Mission Dragon was another good winner on Sunday when he raced away for a big win in the Class 5 & 6 over 1200 metres under Fausto Henrique.

Trainer By Patrick Lee, Mission Dragon ended up in the box seat in running before powering away from his rivals over the last two hundred to win handsomely.

Mission Dragon was a $60,000 NZD purchase at the 2018 Karaka Ready To Run Sales and judging by his easy victory Sunday will certainly pay his way in Macau.