Race 3 - Hong Kong Jockey Club Sprint - Sunday 30th July

Machinist The Best of Nicholls Seven

Machinist proved the best of David Nicholls seven runners in the £70,000 Hong Kong Jockey Club Sprint, when holding on by a short-head from the fast-finishing One More Round in the five-furlong handicap. When questioned whether he thought Machinist was the best of his seven runners.

All of David Nicolls horses have run pretty well and David I thought he was going to be beaten by the runner-up. He was supposed to be in the Stewards Cup at Goodwood next Saturday but due to a mistake by me, he was not entered. I do not know what happened - I think he was near the bottom of the page and I missed him. Fortunately, the owners Jason Berry and Tom Gould have been very understanding.

This race was only entered as a contigency plan and it has worked out well. He is in a classified stakes at Goodwood on Wednesday and also a handicap on the Thursday. As regards trip, he is pretty versatile between five and seven furlongs. You can wait on him and pick up when you want to. The horse buckled down well, although I thought we had got beat on the line. He slightly missed the kick but travelled well and stretched his neck out at the finish.

James Doyle, rider of the short-head runner-up One More Round, thought he had timed his challenge to perfection but the photo-finish went against him. Thinking he had won. If the gap had come a couple of strides before then he would have got there.  The horse is in great form and he will go for the Stewards Cup (on Saturday at Goodwood) He would have to be better for the extra furlong there

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