Fearless Force has all to prove in Liu Chie Poo

FEARLESS FORCE playing second fiddle in the Labour Day Trophy did stablemate MAJOR DANGER no good, a gamble spoiled by INTRESTNTIMESAHEAD, who rallied under strong handling from Reyan Lewis to win by a neck in a driving finish.

Delroy Beharie, replacing claiming rider Richie Shakes astride FEARLESS FORCE in Saturday’s Liu Chie Poo Trophy at a mile, won’t be the first time the journeyman has been summoned to land a gamble by A. C. K Stables.

A bit slow from the gate in the Labour Day, FEARLESS FORCE was afterwards hindered between STOMP THE RHYTHM and BLUE VINYL. Pulled out of that scramble, Shakes afterwards kept FEARLESS FORCE wide down the backstretch, forced even wider when almost clipping heels with early leader FINAL LOAD backing out of the pace leaving the three-pole.

Despite leaving the half-mile marker eight lengths off the pace being blazed by MAJOR DANGER and suffering a second interference, FEARLESS FORCE appeared keener than Shakes, who decided to test his hand-riding skills inside the last half-furlong.

While Raddesh Roman was up to his usual antics, frenetic left-hand whipping aboard MAJOR DANGER, drifting from the rail to mid-track, pushing out INTRESTNTIMESAHEAD, Shakes appeared to be reading from the jockeys’ school manual, hands and heels to the winning post with whip tucked away, finishing fifth by a length and three-quarter.

INTRESTNTIMESAHEAD won the seven-furlong Labour Day Trophy in 1:27.0, almost two seconds slower than FEARLESS FORCE’ runaway victory against non-winners of an overnight allowance on April 12, a rapid 1:25.1 on a sloppy track.

BLUE VINYL and SISTREN TREASURE, who both charged late under purposeful rides to finish third and fourth, respectively, behind INTRESTNTIMESAHEAD and MAJOR DANGER, a length ahead of tenderly handled FEARLESS FORCE, could be in for a rude awakening.