December, 2020 | Horse Racing Free Tips

Like Father, Like Son: Danon Smash Takes Hong Kong Sprint For Japan

Danon Smash followed in the footsteps of his sire Lord Kanaloa with a thrilling victory for Japan on Sunday in the G1 Longines Hong Kong Sprint (1200 meters) at Sha Tin, their third in the HK$22 million contest's 21-year history.

“It is a very pleasing moment that Lord Kanaloa and Danon Smash, sire and son could achieve their Hong Kong wins – it's a happy moment,” said a representative for trainer Takayuki Yasuda.

Lord Kanaloa landed Sha Tin's premier dash twice in 2012 and 2013, and was also trained by Yasuda, and Danon Smash joined the honor roll with a gritty success under Ryan Moore, who one race prior, secured the G1 Hong Kong Vase (2400m) aboard Mogul.

“We got lucky – he stepped very well and we managed to slot into a lovely spot, I was always happy and when the pace steadied around the bend, I was able to just move out and keep moving forward and he got there in plenty of time,” Moore said.

The Lord Kanaloa 5-year-old broke cleanly from the widest gate of 14 to sit midfield under Moore, who peeled out at the 300 meter mark to grind his way to a half-length victory in a time of 1:08.45, staving off the fast-finishing Jolly Banner in second, while Rattan rattled into third.

“He was very tough and very honest – he was a pleasure to ride and he'd shown very good form at times in Japan's best sprints and at seven furlongs as well he's won some of the best races at Group 2 level and he deserved to win his Group 1,” Moore said.

The speedy bay has finished third and second in the last two editions of the G1 Sprinters Stakes (1200m) at Nakayama, and is a four-time G3 winner and two-time G2 victor.

“I'm delighted and just thankful for being asked to ride him and I also need to thank the owners Danox and Mr. Yasuda certainly knows how to prepare a sprinter for a Hong Kong Sprint,” the British ace said.

The 114-rater landed the 10th win of his career today, and followed last start's runner-up effort to Gran Alegria with a triumph today, his first at the top-level after eight attempts.

“I gave him a gentle breeze on Wednesday morning – it wasn't anything strenuous, there was no real comments to say, no one was worried by anything about the horse but no one was overly bullish about the horse,” Moore said.

Today's pair of wins are Moore's seventh at the Hong Kong International Races, the most any international-based rider in history.

“I think when he got the draw we were all possibly a bit worried and we needed to see what happens and thankfully everything worked his way and we just had a bit of luck and everything worked out nicely,” Moore said.

Classique Legend battled on for 11th, while favorite Hot King Prawn was overhauled and faded to finish seventh as the dominant 2.1 market elect.

While Hong Kong's current sprinting ranks were on show in the HK$22 million contest, the future was on show four races later as Winning Dreamer extended his unbeaten record to a perfect six with victory in the aptly named Class 2 Lord Kanaloa Handicap (1200m).

The speedster charged to a comfortable one-length victory, while Sky Field could only manage sixth.

“I'm thinking the first of January, there is a 1400 meter race at G3 level to see if we can know more whether he can step up to 1600 meters,” trainer Frankie Lor said.

The G3 Chinese Club Challenge Cup Handicap (1400m) on January 1, 2021, will see Winning Dreamer put his Hong Kong Classic Mile credentials on the line, or, if the son of Deep Field will keep to the sprint distances.

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Fifth In Breeders’ Cup Turf, Mogul Proves Best In Hong Kong Vase

Vindicating Aidan O'Brien's long-held faith, Mogul has emphatically underlined claims as heir apparent to Ballydoyle's throne after claiming victory in Sunday's HK$20 million Longines Hong Kong Vase (2400m) at Sha Tin.

Providing Aidan O'Brien's third triumph in the race, adding to Highland Reel's 2015 and 2017 wins, Mogul downed Hong Kong champion Exultant and Columbus County to also give Ryan Moore his third Vase success.

Yet another son of Galileo, Mogul has long been touted as the next world-beater to emerge from O'Brien's yard and proved his class by overwhelming Exultant, a five-time G1 winner and Hong Kong's reigning Horse of the Year.

While elated at notching his sixth Hong Kong International Races victory, Moore was unsurprised by the quality of Mogul's performance.

“He's a horse that we always expected a lot from,” Moore said.

“He was a good 2-year-old, he won his G2 race (Champions Juvenile Stakes) at Leopardstown. I don't know, maybe just the way the season unfolded, he took a while to really pull himself together.

“Maybe he was just a bit behind Derby Day (when sixth to Serpentine) and we were always on the back foot. He was super impressive when he won in Paris (Grand Prix de Paris) and his Breeders' Cup run (fifth behind Tarnawa in the Breeders' Cup Turf) wasn't without merit.

“Today, the race worked out nicely for him, he's beaten a really solid yardstick in Exultant. He (Exultant) always seems to consistently perform to the same level and never seems to run a bad race around here.

“He's put them away very nicely.

“In reality, I was in front sooner than would have been ideal today but he took me there nicely.

“When he gets in front, he maybe lacks a bit of concentration still but he's a beautiful looking horse.

“He's got a fantastic mind and it doesn't stress him. He'll be a really nice three-year-old.”

Owned by Coolmore, Mogul's laidback mindset lends itself to another international campaign as a 4-year-old.

“He has a great mind, so traveling won't stress him. He loves decent ground,” Moore said.

“I think a few times the ground was made a little bit against him. Maybe even in America, the pace was wrong but the ground might have been loose enough.

“At York, the ground might have been deep enough for him that day.

“These fast, flat tracks suit him. They let him show what class he has.”

Moore first travelled to Hong Kong in 2001 as a teenager, never dreaming he would rise to acclaim as Longines World's Best Jockey among a host of other accolades.

“I've always loved coming to Hong Kong. I came here when I was 18 and they were doing the breeze up sale and I've always loved coming here,” he said.

“I hadn't even rode as an apprentice then and I remember coming here and watching Douglas (Whyte) ride all the winners.

“It was a different time but it was always a great atmosphere and you know how much it means to the punters here. They love their racing and it will be great to have them back here.

“It's fantastic racing and competitive racing. It's been a shame I wasn't able to get over here earlier this year but hopefully we can come again.

“The year for everyone has been a mess but we're very thankful to everyone at the Hong Kong Jockey Club for getting me over. It's been a big effort and I can't really stress enough the time they've put in.

“We're very thankful to get us over here.”

Representing O'Brien, Ballydoyle's John Manton praised Mogul's display.

“He was brilliant there today and he travelled well,” he said. “All week, he's been doing everything we've asked him to do and today worked out just perfectly.

“He picked up well and ran well out to the line. He was very good.

“He took a few runs at the start of the year and came on from it. He ran well in the Breeders' Cup but he was a small bit unlucky as well.

“He came here in very good form and Aidan was confident about him. Everything just went to plan.

“It worked out well, thank God.

“He likes a good pace, just held up and he runs home well off it. He's got a great stride and he's just a very good horse.

“Ryan was very happy with him and said he was just class. A push-button ride.

“Hopefully we'll be back here again next with him and we can do it again.”

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‘We Have Managed This Crisis’: Hong Kong Successfully Stages International Races

Hong Kong Jockey Club Chief Executive Officer Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges saluted Hong Kong's “unique spirit and resilience” after a successful staging of the Longines Hong Kong International Races featuring G1 glory across four world-class features shared between Japan, Ireland and Hong Kong at Sha Tin on Sunday, Dec. 13.

“It is important to have these global events. We are very proud that as a team, we pulled this off,” he said.

“There were some anxious moments and discussions about 'How can we do this?' but in the end, we focused on the result and the results speak for themselves.

“The tracks were in outstanding condition, if you look at the way the horses were handled in quarantine and how the jockeys were brought into isolation facilities, everything went perfectly in challenging times.

“But this is the 'can-do' spirit of Hong Kong and the playing-to-win spirit of the Jockey Club.”

Engelbrecht-Bresges said challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic contrived to make the latest staging of the “Turf World Championships” the most difficult in the history of the Club.

“But the system we created was extremely robust. It all passed all the tough questions of health officials and I would like to thank the government for trusting us,” he said.

“You can have all the processes but, in the end, are you able to pull this off? And people say 'If there's one organization in Hong Kong to pull this off, that's the Jockey Club.”

“And we hope that this gives an example of how maybe other sports can do this.”

Acknowledging the success of Japan with Normcore in the HK$28 million Hong Kong Cup, Danon Smash in the HK$22 million Hong Kong Sprint and Ireland with Mogul in the HK$20 million Hong Kong Vase, Mr Engelbrecht-Bresges paid tribute to the enterprise and support shown by visiting international horsemen.

“I want to give special credit to our overseas friends because it's about trust to send your people, to send your horses on such a journey,” he said.

“To have such an exquisite assembly of equine talent – be it horse, be it jockeys – to come to Hong Kong, we would like to really thank our friends overseas to enable us to stage such a global event.

“If you look at the event today, it went to absolute perfection.

“I think it was absolutely a global sporting event of the highest quality. It showed Hong Kong is one of the fairest places to bring a horse.

“The support we get from Ballydoyle, which is really the leading global racing operation, and that they have success winning with a horse like Mogul and a really good performance by Magical.

“Our Japanese friends must be very happy and there were some people saying you cannot win from barrier 14 on Danon Smash but if you have Ryan Moore on board, he can make it happen.”

Referring to local hero Golden Sixty's devastating HK$25 million LONGINES Hong Kong Mile win, Engelbrecht-Bresges paid tribute to winning rider Vincent Ho.

“Vincent Ho was a shining example of investment in the future,” he said of the Hong Kong Jockey Club Apprentice Jockeys' School graduate, who has risen to global recognition as a world-class rider.

“Vincent has definitely arrived today on the global stage as one of the really top-class jockeys,” he said.

“I'm definitely really pleased to see Golden Sixty show a tremendous performance and he's definitely one of the best milers in the world.

Engelbrecht-Bresges emphasised the Club's determination that “none of our activities should pose a risk to the health and wellbeing of our fans and customers” was unshakeable.

“We have clear guiding principles and with daily assessment, practically from the start of the year, we have managed this crisis and created a Racing Bubble,” he said.

“Everybody bought into this and I want to give credit to the whole team for pulling this off.”

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Volatile Settling in at Three Chimneys

Two years ago, dual Eclipse Champion Gun Runner (Candy Ride {Arg}) joined the Three Chimneys’ stallion program after collecting six Grade I wins for the farm and partner Winchell Thoroughbreds. This year another Three Chimneys-owned racehorse in Volatile, a son of Violence campaigned by Three Chimneys and Phoenix Thoroughbred III, has been added to the roster for 2021 and will stand for an initial fee of $17,500.

Before even stepping on a racetrack, the imposing gray was one to watch.

His stakes-winning dam Melody Lady (Unbridled’s Song) was out of the dual Grade I winner Lady Tak (Mutakdim) and when he was a yearling, his full sister Buy Sell Hold became the first winner for their sire and then two week’s later, Violence’s first stakes winner in the Kentucky Juvenile S.

The young colt caught buyers’ attention a few months later at the Keeneland September Sale, including no less of a judge than Kerri Radcliffe.

The agent was on the lookout for a racehorse for the Three Chimneys-Phoenix Thoroughbred partnership, and the son of Violence checked all the right boxes.

“He was a really good-looking horse with plenty of scope and length,” Three Chimneys’ Tom Hamm recalled. “One of his great attributes that the team really liked was the way he moved. He was very impressive and athletic-looking. He had a lot of power and leverage behind.”

The partnership went to $850,000 to purchase the youngster, making him the highest-priced yearling by Violence to date.

A case of mild tendonitis kept Volatile from the starting gate as a juvenile, but trainer Steve Asmussen knew he was just biding his time with the colt.

“Once Steve got his hands on him he realized that he was really fast, so he just wanted to be patient and take his time,” Hamm said.

Volatile made his debut in the summer of his sophomore season at Ellis Park, defeating maiden rivals at six furlongs. He came up 1 1/4-lengths short in his next start, but bounced back with a three-length win last November at Churchill Downs going six furlongs.

“Even with a bit of a troubled trip, he ran some impressive numbers and an impressive time,” Hamm said of the 1:09:10 finish. “That was kind of the beginning of his breakout.”

Volatile made easy work of his 4-year-old debut the next spring at Oaklawn Park, winning by an eye-catching 7 ½ lengths.

Stepping up to stakes company in his next start, he showed the same brilliance in winning the Aristides S. The 8 length-victor stopped the clock at 1:07.57- just .02 seconds short of the track record.

“Volatile’s win in the Aristides was a very visually-impressive race,” Hamm said. “His 112 Beyer was the highest in 2020 for any horse at any distance on any surface. If you watched the race, it was one of the most impressive things because he was actually geared down on the stretch. I think he proved in that race that he was a very special horse.”

Sent off as the favorite next out in the GI Alfred G. Vanderbilt H., Volatile broke first under Ricardo Santana Jr. and never looked back as he defeated a field of all Grade I winners and ran a :22.94 final quarter.

“Winning the Vanderbilt just verified what we already believed–that he could compete at the Grade I level,” Hamm said. “His performance in that race, coupled with the performance in the Aristides solidified him as one of the most talented horses out there in 2020.”

The four-year-old was set for his next start in the GII Vosburgh S. when, days before the race, he was injured with a hairline fracture to his right front cannon bone.

“Volatile was training excellent leading up to the Vosburgh,” Hamm said. “We were going to use that race as a prep for the Breeders’ Cup, and then unfortunately he came up with an injury. He had already done enough at that point, and we thought it was time to bring him to the farm and get him ready for his stallion career.”

Hamm said that while Volatile excelled as a sprinter, he believes the colt would have been dangerous stretching out as well.

“Volatile was obviously very fast and a good sprinter, but honestly, he’s built like a miler. He’s got a lot of stretch and length to him. Actually Steve thought he could be a good one-turn mile horse, but when the Aristides was right in front of us and he was running so well, there was really no reason to change at that point and unfortunately we didn’t get the chance down the road, but we think he could have been a good miler as well.”

“He’s been overwhelmingly popular with the breeders,” Hamm continued. “We think he’s got that wow factor and that he’s going to do really well.”

When asked what it means to be able to retire a horse to stud that raced in the Three Chimneys silks, Hamm responded, “You know, it means a lot to Three Chimneys and to the Torrealba family. It’s one of our main goals not only to be able to compete at the highest level in racing, but to be able to develop our own stallions on the racetrack. It’s a great tribute to our entire team and the hard work that everybody here puts in. It’s something we’re very proud of and it’s one of our main goals at Three Chimneys.”

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