Speedy Smartie’s breakout season has connections excited
Brett Crawford-trained Speedy Smartie ran a solid second in the opening race of the 2025/26 season. On Saturday, 11 outings later, having only finished outside the placings once, he’ll appear at Sha Tin for the final time this term.
It’s been a superb season for the consistent six-year-old, the undoubted breakout star of first-year handler Crawford’s yard: three wins, six seconds, a third and a fourth have earned connections almost HK$3.2 million in prize money and have seen Speedy Smartie’s rating leap a remarkable 27 points to his current mark of 60.
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Karis Teetan has been aboard for all but one of those 11 outings and said the gelding has maintained his condition thanks to some savvy handling from Crawford.
“He’s a horse that’s performed really well throughout the whole season,” Teetan said. “Brett has maintained his condition and looked after him.
“As many runs as he’s had, he gave him a little break in between each one, and I think going towards this run, the horse is in good shape and he’s freshened up nicely, so I’m looking forward to riding him.”
For a third straight outing, the Satono Aladdin gelding will lug the maximum weight of 135lb, but Teetan believes he could deliver his fourth win of the season in the Class 4 Chan Trophy Handicap (1200m) from barrier 10, and might be better suited to life in Class 3 next season.
“He’s gone to the races and always tried his best, so let’s hope he goes to his final race this season and gives us his best performance again,” Teetan added. “He’s a very versatile horse. If you can get the right run from the draw, I’m sure he’s going to be very competitive.
“I still believe that if he goes up (in class) and with a light weight, it would suit him even better. But he’s a big horse; he can handle the big weight. He’s handled it in the past.”
Another highlight of Saturday’s card is the reappearance of David Hayes’ highly promising two-year-old, Jedi Spurs, who justified 1.60 odds at betting sites when he dispatched the field by four-and-a-half lengths on debut last month.
He steps from gate one under Brenton Avdulla in the Purves Quaich Plate for Griffins as he attempts 1200m for the first time, and while he was quietly confident ahead of that destructive debut, Hayes admitted it was impossible not to get carried away by the promise Jedi Spurs (128lb) displayed.
“He ran fast time, and won by many lengths, and I think he’s improved – he’s a very promising young horse,” Hayes said. “I was hoping he could do that (on debut) and he did. Now he’s got the question of 1200 metres. But I actually think he’ll like the bend. He’s shown me that in trackwork, he accelerates very well off the bend.”
With Hong Kong Horse of the Year nominee Ka Ying Rising slowly building up preparations for his Group 1 The Everest (1200m) defence in the new season, Hayes said Jedi Spurs’ emergence provides a further source of excitement for the 2026/27 campaign.
“I was impressed by his overall time. He broke 56 (seconds, for 1000m); that’s rare here. So if he can repeat and run time again this weekend – I don’t know what the conditions will be, but if they’re normal conditions and he can run time – we’ve got something to look forward to for next season,” he added.
Saturday’s11-race fixture at Sha Tin starts at 4pm local time with the Purves Quaich Plate (1200m) for Griffins.
