Money Catcher (NZ) (Ferlax {NZ}) mapped as the chief speed of the Champions and Chater, but when Derek Leung elected not to go on with it, Zac Purton was left no option but to make the running with Romantic Warrior, trying 12 furlongs for the first time having won the G1 Longines Hong Kong Cup and G1 FWD QE II Cup over a mile and a quarter this term. Romantic Warrior can get fired up in his races, but he settled kindly enough and took them past halfway in 1:15.51, just outside standard clocking of 1:15.15.

While Money Catcher ensured that Romantic Warrior would not get loose on the lead, Russian Emperor was ridden back in the field by Hugh Bowman, knowing full well that his mount's best asset was his ability to run a strong 2400 metres, while the distance was the potential fly in the ointment for Romantic Warrior. Purton upped the tempo a bit on the final turn and Romantic Warrior gave a good response when asked for a sprint in upper stretch. As late as 150 metres from home, it appeared he'd left the others too much to do, but Russian Emperor ultimately called upon his superior stamina and was along late to join the likes of River Verdon (Ire), Indigenous (Ire), Viva Pataca (GB) and Exultant (Ire) as back-to-back winners of the race.

Russian Emperor became the first overseas runner for trainer Douglas Whyte when saluting in the Listed H. H. The Amir Trophy in Qatar in February and he was a highly creditable fifth in the G1 Jebel Hatta at Meydan over an insufficient 1800 metres the following month. Eighth to Equinox (Jpn) (Kitasan Black {Jpn}) in the G1 Longines Dubai Sheema Classic Mar. 25, Russian Emperor carried 135 pounds to a running-on sixth behind Straight Arron (Aus) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) in the G3 Queen Mother Memorial Cup over track and distance May 7.

“He's a superstar of my stable and he's certainly given me one hell of a ride since he's joined me,” Whyte said of the 2020 G3 Hampton Court S. hero. “We've had our ups and downs but there's been a lot more ups than downs. To travel with him and winning in Doha, and coming back now to repeat that effort on a firm track. You've just got to give it all to the horse. When he won in Doha, that was probably the highlight of my career, both as a jockey and a trainer, to go abroad and do that.”

The beaten favourite gave it his all in his jockey's view.

“[Romantic Warrior] showed today it's [2400m] not his favourite distance, but he tried bloody hard–he was gone at the 600m,” Purton said. “Coming into the straight, Money Catcher actually headed me and I thought he was going to drop out, and to his credit, he tried as hard as he could. It was just not his distance.”

Russian Emperor's champion and four-time Group 1-winning dam sadly passed away days after foaling a colt by Justify in August 2020. The soon-to-be 3-year-old, an A$240,000 Inglis Easter yearling named Maravillas (Aus), is currently spelling for trainer Annabel Neasham.

Sunday, Sha Tin, Hong Kong
STANDARD CHARTERED CHAMPIONS AND CHATER CUP-G1, HK$12,000,000, Sha Tin, 5-28, 3yo/up, 2400mT, 2:26.87, gd.
1–RUSSIAN EMPEROR (IRE), 126, g, 6, by Galileo (Ire)
1st Dam: Atlantic Jewel (Aus) (Ch. 3yo Filly, Ch. Older Mare & MG1SW-Aus, $1,559,748), by Fastnet Rock (Aus)
2nd Dam: Regard (Aus), by Zabeel (NZ)
3rd Dam: Nanshan (Ire), by Nashwan
O-Mike Cheung Shun Ching; B-Coolmore, Lauri Macri & Partners; T-Douglas Whyte; J-Hugh Bowman; HK$6,840,000. Lifetime Record: Ch. Stayer-HK, GSW-Eng, SW-Qat, GSP-Ire, 29-6-4-3, HK$48,597,258. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree. Click for the free Equineline.com catalog-style pedigree.
2–Romantic Warrior (Ire), 126, g, 5, Acclamation (GB)–Folk Melody (Ire), by Street Cry (Ire). (300,000gns Ylg '19 TATOCT; HK$4,800,000 HRA '21 HKJUN). O-Peter Lau Pak Fai; B-Corduff Stud & T J Rooney; T-Danny Shum; J-Zac Purton; HK$2,640,000.
3–Five G Patch (Ire), 126, g, 5, Camelot (GB)–Uliana, by Darshaan (GB). O-Lam Wai Ying; B-Newstead Breeding; T-Tony Cruz A S; J-Alexis Badel; HK$1,200,000.
Margins: NK, 1, NO. Odds: 83-10, 1-5, 44-1.
Also Ran: Straight Arron (Aus), Money Catcher (NZ), Panfield (Chi), Senor Toba (Aus), Natural Storm (NZ), Columbus County (NZ). Click for the HKJC.com chart, PPs and sectional timing. VIDEO.

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“It was amazing,” Wright said of Angel of Empire's dominant victory at Oaklawn Apr. 1. “You never really know what these horses are going to go on and achieve on the racetrack. And for him to do what he did in New Orleans and to back it up in Arkansas, it stamps him as a pretty serious and genuine Derby prospect.”

Wright and a group of friends annually put together a pinhooking partnership and it was that group that led him to  Christian Black's Forgotten Land Investment.

“In 2020, I approached Christian Black and I told him I was looking to buy some stock privately for a group that I do pinhooking for and he said he might have some opportunities for me,” Wright recalled. “So in late summer, probably just around the September sale, he took me out to various farms where he had some foals. I basically was looking at his stock in the field. I came across three horses that year. It was a Mendelssohn, a Practical Joke and a Classic Empire. I bought into all three of those horses for this pinhooking group. Two of them went on to sell, one sold at Fasig for $110,000 and the other sold at Keeneland for $80,000. And the Classic Empire RNA'd.”

“He was a typical first foal who had a lovely action and was very calm and good-natured,” said of the young Angel of Empire. “I was just really impressed with how he handled himself. I went to see him twice and I saw a real athlete there. When he was a weanling, he was just really small and we just kicked him down the line to Keeneland the following year. He was an awkward horse throughout much of that period and then he became really leggy. He was never that robust individual that you were really taken by, but the thing that he always had was that he was always a great mover. He really lowered his head and just walked. I was really happy with how he developed at that time. He was at Nicky Drion's from when he RNA'd until he sold when he sold with Hunter Sims at Warrendale.”

Of the sales result at Keeneland in 2021, Wright said, “You buy for basically just over its stud fee, to yield that type of return, it's not going to make you rich and sort your life out forever, but it certainly was a decent return. Whoever bought for the Albaugh family has a great eye because he was in the later books, I think he was a book 4 or 5 horse, he just always presented himself really well.”

Eschewing the sales ring for buying off the farm is one way Wright looks to find value for his clients.

“I like buying horses privately,” he said. “There is some good value there, obviously. Buying horses in the marketplace sometimes can determine value from other people's perspective. But to go and look at horses in their natural setting, it tells you a lot about them. It tells you their demeanor. You're going to see how they handle things and you're not really taking them out of their own element. I have had some success doing it. I enjoy going out there and seeing the horses in their natural settings and being themselves.”

For the 31-year-old Wright, being born in racehorse crazy Hong Kong may have set the trajectory for the rest of his life.

“I was born and raised in Hong Kong, so I am a Hong Kong citizen and a U.S. citizen,” Wright explained. “My parents are American. They were over there for professional reasons since the early 80s and have recently moved back. I was born and raised over there and did the typical Pony Club into show jumping route. I ended up representing Hong Kong at quite a significant level in show jumping. I rode in shows all across the world, in Asia, Europe, the States.”

At the same time, Wright was introduced to the racing industry by 13-time champion jockey Douglas Whyte.

“Hong Kong is a place where racing is kind of the only professional sport,” Wright said. “It's huge. Everyone in town talks about. They love punting on it. It's almost like being a serious celebrity. As a young boy, I basically attached myself to Douglas Whyte. He became a second father and a mentor to me. Douglas took me under his wing as a young child. He exposed me to horses and going to trials and being at the track. We developed a close friendship.”

Wright went on to graduate from the University of Arizona's School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences with a degree in Horse Racing Management. And from there, his education in the industry only intensified.

“For my first gig out of Arizona, I was doing some stuff for Joe Miller at Kern Thoroughbreds,” Wright said. “From there, I spent a year in Christophe Clement's system–I went through grooming horses, going to the track and getting all of that kind of experience as one does in a training barn.”

From the track, Wright turned to the sales ring where he worked for Justin Casse for several years, first with his Casse Sales consignment and then shopping at auctions around the world.

“Justin gave me the exposure of being involved in a consignment,” Wright said. “I spent a lot of time with Justin and really learned to respect him. He afforded me the opportunity to go around to sales and start doing a lot of his sales work for him and for his brother at the time. And that gave me a lot of exposure to different things; conformationally looking at horses and not only domestically in the States, but he took me to Europe and Australasia. I spent about five years working under Justin. He was probably one of the main reasons why I have developed a decent eye, in my opinion. I owe a lot to Justin Casse.”

In 2020, in the midst of a global pandemic, Wright decided it was time to go out on his own and he launched Equine Investments International.

“I was starting to get away from doing Justin's stuff and I wanted to start focusing on Hong Kong,” Wright said of the decision to launch his own company. “Douglas got his trainer's license and more opportunities were coming my way to buy horses for clients. I thought it was a good time to have my own LLC and it's not like I can't still do work for other people if need be. But I wanted to start making my own brand and my own name.”

He continued, “The pandemic made things a little more stressful, but the private market in Hong Kong was still quite active. That really was amazing to have that opportunity to have me ticking over during what was probably a really tough time for people.”

Wright spends half the year in Kentucky and half the year in Hong Kong, where the majority of his clients are based.

“They are mostly Chinese people who race in Hong Kong and overseas,” Wright said of his client base. “A lot of my business would be based overseas. I attend yearling sales and breeze-up sales globally, but what I really like to hone in on is private sales. I like to buy racehorses with proven track records. I'd rather spend that extra money and go buy something that has some form, rather than taking a chance on something.”

The web site for Wright's Equine Investments International stresses the concept of racing-centric investment portfolios. Does Wright think his clients can make money in the sport?

“I think they certainly can,” he said. “I think you have to be strategic about it. You've got to have your finger in a lot of different pies and not just focus on one thing. But racing needs some new blood and some new exposure. I think people should be able to get involved. With what My Racehorse has done with the microshare level and I think the syndications in Australia, people can certainly have fun and shouldn't be solely focused on investment, but I think there is money to be made.”

Wright's focus is on taking advantage of the global marketplace.

“I think the goal for myself is to be a participant in global bloodstock,” he said. “I think the world is getting smaller. Obviously with social media and new technology, it's easy to access people all over the world where it may have not been 10-15 years ago. I would like to be a global participant in every market. And I'm doing that to an extent now. I buy a lot of horses in Australia and New Zealand, Europe, Ireland and France and here in the States. I am covering quite a few markets.”

Angel of Empire's spot in the Derby starting gate goes a long way to validate Wright's life work.

“To have horses in these types of races is why we do this,” he said. “It's gratifying to say I have spotted some young talent that has gone on to produce what he's done on the racetrack. It's challenging, as you know. There are only 20 horses in the starting gate and to be one of the 20–and I'm expecting he will be in the top three or four in the betting–to have a horse go on and do that is a serious achievement.”

The post Wright Takes Flight With Pinhook Grad Angel of Empire appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Sanna was himself part of the ultra-competitive collection of riders in Hong Kong for two seasons, but managed a strike rate of just 4.6%. To make matters worse, he was handed a 10-meeting suspension in late 2019 and his Hong Kong license was stripped not long after winning in Group 3 company.

“For nine months after that I didn't ride, I didn't even think about horses,” Sanna recently told Asian Racing Report's David Morgan. “I became heavy, I think I was 72 kilos (158 pounds) and it was the time of Covid. I was quite depressed because I had given my whole self to doing well in Hong Kong and I got cut off at the wrong time: I was doing well, I was fit. I had ridden nine winners by the beginning of November, so I was winning, I won the Ladies' Purse, I was doing alright.”

Since then, Sanna has experienced a renaissance in the desert, as he has been at or near the top of the local jockeys' standings, and it was a no-brainer for Douglas Whyte, the former legendary jockey turned successful trainer, to book Sanna for the Amir Trophy.

“It's the first time I've travelled a horse abroad,” the 'Durban Demon' told Gina Bryce following the victory. “I'm only new to the training ranks, but [Russian Emperor's] a special horse for me. I've won two Group 1 races with him in Hong Kong, and I thought he was the right horse to travel with temperament wise. I must say he's really blossomed since he's landed in Qatar.”

Settled towards the rear with only two rivals behind for the opening 1800-metres, Sanna swung the 6-year-old out into the clear approaching the stretch and appeared to be going ominously well. He tanked to the front with a furlong to travel and had enough in the dying strides to hold off the progressive Warren Point (GB) (Dubawi {Ire}), an impressive winner in listed company in Bahrain earlier this month, who was locked away at a crucial stage and attacked the line to just miss. Commonly owned stablemates Bolthole (Ire) (Free Eagle {Ire}) and Inverness (Ire) (Highland Reel {Ire}) rounded out the minors.

Broome (Ire) (Australia {GB}) attended the pace before weakening into fifth, while Hong Kong's Senor Toba (Aus) (Toronado {Ire}) finished a midfield seventh for former local champion jockey Harry Bentley. Stone Age (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) failed to land a blow and trailed in.

Russian Emperor, winner of Royal Ascot's G3 Hampton Court S., was a narrowly beaten second in the 2021 BMW Hong Kong Derby and had since won the G1 Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup over 10 furlongs and the G1 Champions and Chater Cup going Saturday's trip. He  holds an entry for the G1 Longines Sheema Classic at Meydan Mar. 25. The gelding is one of two winners out of his champion four-time Group 1 winning dam, who died in August 2020 just days after foaling a Justify colt now named Marvillas (Aus), an A$240,000 Inglis Easter yearling purchase who is currently spelling for trainer Annabel Neasham.

In the afternoon's other marquee events, Order of Australia (Ire) (Australia {GB}) was given a perfect ride from the front by Ryan Moore to scoop the Irish Thoroughbred Marketing Cup (1600m); the John and Thady Gosden-trained Alzahir (Fr) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) outfinished the filly Kerindia (Ire) (Cotai Glory {GB}) in the age-restricted Al Rayyan Mile; and Flaming Rib (Ire) (Ribchester {Ire}) outdueled two-time defending champion Taxiwala (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}) with Oisin Murphy at the controls in the Dukhan Sprint.

Saturday's Results:
HH THE AMIR TROPHY (Qat-G1)-Listed, $2,500,000, Al Rayyan, 2-18, 3yo/up, 2400mT, 2:25.46, gd.
1–RUSSIAN EMPEROR (IRE), 128, g, 6, Galileo (Ire)–Atlantic Jewel (Aus) (Ch. 3yo Filly, Ch. Older Mare & MG1SW-Aus, $1,559,748), by Fastnet Rock (Aus). O-Mike Cheung Shun Ching; B-Coolmore, Lauri Macri & Partners; T-Douglas Whyte; J-Alberto Sanna; $1,425,000. Lifetime Record: MG1SW-HK, GSW-Eng, GSP-Ire, 25-5-4-3, $5,273,661.
2–Warren Point (GB), 126, g, 4, Dubawi (Ire)–Gaterie, by Dubai Destination. O/B-Godolphin; T-Charlie Appleby; J-William Buic; $550,000.
3–Bolthole (Ire), 126, c, 4, Free Eagle (Ire)–Weekend Getaway (Ire), by Acclamation (GB). (€12,000 Ylg '20 GOFFEB; 19,000gns RNA Ylg '20 TATOCT; 130,000gns HRA '22 TATAUT). O-Wathnan Racing; B-Patrick M Ryan; T-Alban de Mieulle; J-Ronan Thomas; $275,000.
Margins: HF, HF, SHD.
Also Ran: Inverness (Ire), Broome (Ire), Mutabahi (Fr), Senor Toba (Aus), Romagna Mia (GB), Riocorvo (Ger), In The Night (Ire), Hellenistique (Ire), Stone Age (Ire).

IRISH THOROUGHBRED MARKETING CUP (Qat-G2, NBT), $500,000, Al Rayyan, 2-18, 3yo/up, 1600mT, 1:33.86, gd.
1–ORDER OF AUSTRALIA (IRE), 128, h, 6, Australia (GB)–Senta's Dream (GB), by Danehill. O-Derrick Smith, Mrs John Magnier, Michael Tabor & Mrs A M O'Brien; B-Whisperview Trading Ltd; T-Aidan O'Brien; J-Ryan Moore; $285,000. Lifetime Record: Hwt. 3yo & 4yo-Ire at 7-9.5f, GISW-US, MGSW-Ire, MG1SP-Fr, G1SP-Eng, $2,255,516. *1/2 to Iridessa (Ire) (Ruler of The World {Ire}), MG1SW-Ire, G1SW-Eng, GISW-US, $1,988,198; and Santa Barbara (Ire) (Camelot {GB}), MGISW-US, G1SP-Ire, $731,938.
2–Band Width (Ire), 128, g, 4, Gutaifan (Ire)–Party Whip (Ire), by Whipper. (£22,000 Ylg '20 GOFSEP; 60,000gns HRA '22 TATAUT). O-Wathnan Racing; B-Bridgetown Stud; T-Alban de Mieulle; J-Mickael Barzalona; $110,000.
3–Conflict (Ire), 128, c, 4, No Nay Never–Sound of Guns (GB), by Acclamation (GB). (90,000gns Ylg '20 TATOCT; €255,200 2yo '21 ARQMAY; £52,500 HRA '22 TATAUG). O-51 East Racing; B-Ballylinch Stud; T-Wasim Al Sahn; J-Maxime Guyon; $55,000.
Margins: HF, HD, HF.

AL RAYYAN MILE (Qat-G2, NBT), $400,000, Al Rayyan, 2-18, 3yo, 1600mT, 1:33.83, gd.
1–ALZAHIR (FR), 128, g, 3, Sea The Stars (Ire)–Cup Cake (Ire), by Singspiel (Ire). (200,000gns Ylg '21 TATOCT). O-Al Wasmiyah Stud, G Bailey, N Wrigley; B-Al Wasmiyah Stud; T-John & Thady Gosden; J-Andrea Atzeni; $228,000. Lifetime Record: 5-2-1-0, $234,758. *1/2 to Suedois (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}), GISW-US, GSW & G1SP-Eng & Fr, GSW-Ire, SP-UAE, $1,983,778; and Kadapul (Fr) (Dark Angel {Ire}), Hwt. Older Mare-Qat.
2–Kerindia (Ire), 123, f, 3, Cotai Glory (GB)–Coursing (GB), by Kyllachy (GB). (£24,000 Ylg '21 TATSEP; 65,000gns 2yo '22 TATAPR; 145,000 2yo '22 TATNOV). O-Injaaz Stud; B-Rossenarra Stud; T-Zuhair Mohsen; J-Jim Crowley; $88,000.
3–Ocean Vision (Ire), 128, c, 3, U S Navy Flag–Balaagha, by Mr. Greeley. O-J Kirkland & Mrs G Ryan; B-Mighty Universe Limited; T-Tim Donworth; J-Maxime Guyon; $44,000.
Margins: HD, 3/4, 3/4. VIDEO

DUKHAN SPRINT (Sponsored by Breeders' Cup) (Qat-G3, NBT), $400,000, Al Rayyan, 2-18, 3yo, 1200mT, 1:08.56, gd.
1–FLAMING RIB (IRE), 128, c, 4, Ribchester (Ire)–Suddenly (Ger), by Excelebration (Ire). (€40,000 Wlg '19 GOFNOV; 25,000gns Ylg '20 TATOCT). O-Dale Dolan Dooley Owen; B-Kildaragh Stud; T-Hugo Palmer; J-Oisin Murphy; $228,000. Lifetime Record: SW & G1SP-Eng, 17-7-3-2, $554,275.
2–Taxiwala (Ire), 128, g, 6, Holy Roman Emperor (Ire)–It's True (Ire), by Kheleyf. (€105,000 Wlg '17 GOFNOV; 50,000gns Ylg '18 TATOCT; 10,000gns HRA '19 TATAUT). O-Eng Osama Omer E Al-Fafea; B-River Downs Stud; T-Osama Al-Dafea; J-Ronan Thomas; $88,000.
3–Monsieur Noir (GB), 128, g, 7, Shamardal–Night Frolic (GB), by Night Shift. (500,000gns Ylg '17 TATOCT; 75,000gns HRA '19 TATAUT). O-Wathnan Racing; B-Highclere Stud & Floors Farming; T-Alban de Mieulle; J-Mickael Barzalona; $44,000.
Margins: 3/4, 2 HF. VIDEO

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The current season, the toughest of the three within the context of the curbs put on the local jockey colony, has seen Shinn reach even loftier heights, with a Sky Field win in the G1 Longines Hong Kong Sprint before Russian Emperor (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) added to that tally in the Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup (2000m) back in February. The end of his stint may be near, but he continues to ride at the peak of his powers and gave the latter a peach of a steer from the tail of the field to post a convincing tally in Sunday's G1 Standard Chartered Champions and Chater Cup at Sha Tin. The win capped off a natural three-timer for Shinn–each for a different trainer–and carries him to 36 winners for the year, good for seventh in the premiership.

Getting the blinkers off after overracing when a last-out fifth to BMW Hong Kong Derby hero Romantic Warrior (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) in the G1 FWD QE II Cup Apr. 24, Russian Emperor was allowed to drift back to last and traveled sweetly behind a soft pace. Content to trail into the final half-mile, Russian Emperor was slipped a bit of rein and followed the move of 2021 Champions and Chater runner-up Columbus County (NZ) (Redwood {GB}) around the turn. Pulled out widest as they hit the top of the straight, Russian Emperor hit top gear about 200 metres out, collared a very game Ka Ying Star (GB) (Cityscape {GB}) and edged clear. Senor Toba (Aus) (Toronado {Ire}) was a perfect-trip third.

“It's the longest 2400 [metres] of my life,” said winning trainer Douglas Whyte, who won the Champions and Chater three times in his illustrious riding career. “When you're a jockey, things unfold and you can see them unfolding in front of you, but when you're standing on the side and watching it, it gets quite daunting.

“He showed that he has got a really good turn of foot for a stayer. If he can continue to race in this sort of form and with these racing manners, he's an exciting horse for all these staying races next season,” Whyte added.

Given all that he–and to be fair, the entire institution of Hong Kong racing–has had to endure, the magnitude of Sunday's win was not lost on Shinn.

“It means a lot. It was a tough decision to go home [at the end of the season],” he explained. “The last year has been an extremely tough time, especially for myself. It was almost a breaking point. I made the decision because I was pretty much battling there mentally.

“Hong Kong has been a great place for me but for a few months there, it was really tough–not just for me, but a lot of people in Hong Kong. It's hard to walk away because I've worked so hard, but mental health is very important.

“Things have eased now but first and foremost, I have to make sure my well-being is where I need it to be and hopefully in time, I can get it back to where I need it to be and you can see me back in Hong Kong in the future,” Shinn said.

Pedigree Notes:

Russian Emperor, winner of the 2020 G3 Hampton Court S. at Royal Ascot, is one of his late sire's 93 worldwide Group 1/Grade I winners and one of three in Hong Kong, alongside G1 Longines Hong Kong Vase winners Highland Reel (Ire) and Mogul (Ire). All three are bred on the enormously successful cross of Galileo over Danehill and his stallion sons. Russian Emperor is the lone Galileo Group 1 winner from a daughter of Fastnet Rock.

Russian Emperor is one of two winners from four to the races for his outstanding dam, a two-time Australian champion and a Group 1 winner at 1400 (x2) (All-Aged S., Memsie S.), 1600 (Schweppes Thousand Guineas) and 2000 metres (Caulfield S.) and winner of 10 of her 11 career starts. Atlantic Jewel, a half-sister to fellow Thousand Guineas heroine Commanding Jewel (Aus) (Commands {Aus}), sadly passed away in August of 2020 after foaling a colt by US Triple Crown winner Justify (Scat Daddy). That produce was purchased by Dermot Farrington Bloodstock for A$240,000 (US$181,059) at last month's Inglis Easter Yearling Sale.

WATCH: Russian Emperor overpowers the field in the Champions and Chater Cup

Sunday, Sha Tin, Hong Kong
STANDARD CHARTERED CHAMPIONS AND CHATER CUP-G1, HK$12,000,000 (£1,231,525/€1,452,138/A$2,182,458/US$1,529,244), Sha Tin, 5-22, 3yo/up, 2400mT, 2:26.67, gd.
1–RUSSIAN EMPEROR (IRE), 126, g, 5, by Galileo (Ire)
1st Dam: Atlantic Jewel (Ire) (Ch. 3yo Filly, Ch. Older Mare & MG1SW-Aus, $1,559,748), by Fastnet Rock (Aus)
2nd Dam: Regard (Aus), by Zabeel (NZ)
3rd Dam: Nanshan (Ire), by Nashwan
O-Mike Cheung Shun Ching; B-Coolmore, Lauri Macri & Partners; T-Douglas Whyte; J-Blake Shinn; HK$6,840,000. Lifetime Record: GSW-Eng, GSP-Ire, 20-4-4-3, HK$28,674,860. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Ka Ying Star (GB), 126, g, 7, Cityscape (GB)–Casual Glance (GB), by Sinndar (Ire). O-Leung Shek Kong; B-Kingsclere Stud; T-Tony Cruz A S; J-Luke Ferraris; HK$2,640,000.
3–Senor Toba (Aus), 126, g, 4, Toronado (Ire)–Bahamas (Aus), by Teofilo (Ire). (A$180,000 Ylg '19 INGMAR). O-Willie May Syndicate; B-D Peacock (SA); T-Caspar Fownes; J-Joao Moreira; HK$1,200,000.
Margins: 1 3/4, HF, 3 1/4. Odds: 21-10, 16-1, 37-10.
Also Ran: Tourbillon Diamond (Aus), Panfield (Chi), Zebrowski (NZ), Butterfield (Brz), Columbus County (NZ), Reliable Team (NZ), Nordic Sky (Brz). Click for the HKJC.com chart, PPs and sectional timing. Click for the free Equineline.com catalog-style pedigree.

The post ‘Emperor’, Shinn Shine in Champions and Chater Cup appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Russian Emperor (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), the winner of the G3 Hampton Court S. at Royal Ascot in 2020, had run some mighty races since being imported into Hong Kong, but just hadn't had that breakthrough moment. On a rain-soaked Sunday afternoon where the thermometer never made it into the double digits, the 5-year-old finally stood centre stage following a bloodless, 4 1/4-length thrashing of a field that included Horse of the Year Golden Sixty (Aus) (Medaglia d'Oro) in the G1 Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup at Sha Tin Racecourse. The race was marred by a fatal injury to reigning BMW Hong Kong Derby hero Sky Darci (NZ) (Darci Brahma {NZ}), who went amiss three furlongs from home and was sadly euthanased.

Exiting a strong third–with Golden Sixty only second–in the G1 Stewards' Cup over an insufficient 1600-metre trip, Russian Emperor was the $6.50 (11-2) second-elect and raced towards the rear of the Gold Cup field in company with odds-on Golden Sixty as Zebrowski (NZ) (Savabeel {Aus}) and Reliable Team (NZ) (Reliable Man {GB}) led over turf called yielding, a rare designation in Hong Kong. Whereas Vincent Ho kept Golden Sixty out of harm's way–understandable given a somewhat luckless effort from an inside draw in the Stewards' Cup–Blake Shinn rode Russian Emperor for a bit of luck, remaining inside throughout. The two market heavies made runs in unison on the turn, with Golden Sixty clearly taking the worst of it, as Shinn weaved his way through to deliver his challenge four off the inside in upper stretch. To make matters worse for Golden Sixty, the underfoot conditions blunted his typically devastating turn of foot, and by then, Russian Emperor–previously third in last year's Derby and to Loves Only You (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) in the G1 Longines Hong Kong Cup in December–was well and truly off and gone. Longshot Savvy Nine (Fr) (Anodin {Ire}) completed a 1-2 for trainer Douglas Whyte.

“I had a few different ideas, few different views,” the conditioner said, reflecting on pre-race game-planning. “In the parade ring, [Blake] said to me 'Do you mind if I ride the rail?' And I said 'You did that last time, you cut the corner and went in. Why would you do anything different? If you've got the horse underneath you, don't come out? It was the winning move. When you're riding with this kind of confidence in these kind of races, that's what you want. The ride made the difference.”

The connections of Golden Sixty chalked up what appeared to be another sub-par performance to Mother Nature.

“The conditions, for sure, played a part and the others just saved up all the ground,” Ho said. “He still ran well, it was still a good effort.”

Pedigree Notes:

Russian Emperor, who was gelded at the end of a six-race preparation last May, becomes a remarkable 93rd top-level scorer for his late sire and joins Longines Hong Kong Vase winners Highland Reel (Ire) and Mogul (Ire) as those to have achieved that success in Hong Kong.

The bay is one of two winners from three to race from his outstanding dam, twice named champion and a four-time Group 1 winner in Australia whose half-sister Commanding Jewel (Aus) (Commands {Aus}) gave their dam Regard back-to-back winners of the G1 Schweppes Thousand Guineas at Caulfield in 2012.

Atlantic Jewel is the dam of Russian Emperor's unraced 4-year-old full-sister Atlantic Emerald (Ire) and 3-year-old full-brother Fleet Commander (Ire). Her current yearling is an Australian-bred son of US Triple Crown winner Justify (Scat Daddy) that is cataloged to sell as lot 62 for the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale Tuesday, Apr. 5. Atlantic Jewel sadly passed away from a hemorrhage five days after foaling that colt.

Sunday, Sha Tin, Hong Kong
CITI HONG KONG GOLD CUP-G1, HK$12,000,000, Sha Tin, 2-20, 3yo/up, 2000mT, 2:04.11, yl.
1–RUSSIAN EMPEROR (IRE), 126, g, 5, by Galileo (Ire)
1st Dam: Atlantic Jewel (Aus) (Ch. 3yo Filly, Ch. Older Mare & MG1SW-Aus, $1,559,748), by Fastnet Rock (Aus)
2nd Dam: Regard (Aus), by Zabeel (NZ)
3rd Dam: Nanshan (Ire), by Nashwan
1ST GROUP 1 WIN. O-Mike Cheung Shun Shing; B-Coolmore, Lauri Macri & Partners; T-Douglas Whyte; J-Blake Shinn; HK$6,840,000. Lifetime Record: GSW-Eng, GSP-Ire, 17-3-3-3, HK$19,964,860. Werk Nick Rating: A. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Savvy Nine (Fr), 126, g, 6, Anodin (Ire)–Insan Mala (Ire), by Bahhare. (€42,000 RNA Ylg '17 ARQAUG; €420,000 HRA '18 ARQARC). O-Julian Hui Chun Hang; B-Jan Krauze; T-Douglas Whyte; J-Matthew Chadwick; HK$2,640,000.
3–Golden Sixty (Aus), 126, g, 6, Medaglia d'Oro–Gaudeamus, by Distorted Humor. (A$120,000 Ylg '17 MMGCYS; NZ$300,000 2yo '17 NZBRTR). O-Stanley Chan Ka Leung; B-Asco International Pty Ltd (Qld); T-Francis Lui K W; J-Vincent Ho C Y; HK$1,200,000.
Margins: 4 1/4, 1 1/4, 3/4. Odds: 11-2, 56-1, 2-5.
Also Ran: Tourbillon Diamond (Aus), More Than This (GB), Zebrowski (NZ), Butterfield (Brz), Reliable Team (NZ), Panfield (Chi). DNF: Sky Darci (NZ). Scratched: Columbus County (NZ). Click for the HKJC.com chart, PPs and sectional timing. Click for the free Equineline.com catalog-style pedigree.

Wellington Makes Amends in QSJC…

After having to take evasive action around the nasty spill in the G1 Longines Hong Kong Sprint two back and after enduring a checkered passage when fourth to Sky Field (Aus) (Deep Field {Aus}) in the G1 Centenary Sprint Prize Jan. 23, Wellington (Aus) (All Too Hard {Aus}) was back to his best Sunday, with a comfortable victory in the G1 Queen's Silver Jubilee Cup.

Settled just behind midfield as the heavily tried Californiadeepshot (Aus) (Deep Field {Aus}) dueled inside of Healthy Happy (Aus) (Zoustar {Aus}), Wellington was waited with behind horses, sprinted more quickly than Ka Ying Star (GB) (Cityscape {GB}) to his outside to take aim on the front rank at the 200 metres and kicked home nicely for a second Group 1 success. Ka Ying Star ran on gamely for second ahead of Stewards' Cup upsetter Waikuku (Ire) (Harbour Watch {Ire}), who was strung up in traffic at a crucial stage and did well to be third.

“I'm obviously pleased for the horse, just had an irritating start to the season for him,” winning trainer Richard Gibson commented. “We were lucky to have a horse after the Longines Hong Kong Sprint and all the misfortune that happened to those horses. This year, things haven't quite gone right for him and we fancied our chances today and the horse delivered.”

Gibson confirmed that Wellington will not target anything on foreign soil and will defend his G1 Chairman's Sprint Prize Apr. 24.

Mihiri is the dam of the unraced 2-year-old filly Rotorua (Aus) (Star Witness {Aus}), missed to Deep Field in 2020 and produced a full-sister to Wellington last term.

Sunday, Sha Tin, Hong Kong
QUEEN'S SILVER JUBILEE CUP-G1, HK$12,000,000, Sha Tin, 2-20, 3yo/up, 1400mT, 1:23.53, gd/yl.
1–WELLINGTON (AUS), 126, g, 5, by All Too Hard (Aus)
1st Dam: Mihiri (Aus) (GSP-Aus, $123,433), by More Than Ready
2nd Dam: Danoise (GB), by Danehill
3rd Dam: Solo de Lune (Ire), by Law Society
(A$70,000 Ylg '18 MMGCYS). O-Mr & Mrs Michael Cheng Wing On & Jeffrey Cheng Man Cheong; B-; T-Richard Gibson; J-Alexis Badel; HK$6,840,000. Lifetime Record: 14-8-1-0, HK$25,948,690. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Ka Ying Star (GB), 126, g, 7, Cityscape (GB)–Casual Glance (GB), by Sinndar (Ire). O-Leung Shek Kong; B-Kingsclere Stud; T-Tony Cruz A S; J-Matthew Chadwick; HK$2,640,000.
3–Waikuku (Ire), 126, g, 7, Harbour Watch (Ire)–London Plane (Ire), by Danehill Dancer (Ire). (€33,000 Ylg '16 TISEP). O-Jocelyn Siu Yang Hin Ting; B-Shane Molan; T-John Size, J-Zac Purton; HK$1,200,000.
Margins: 3/4, HF, 1 1/4. Odds: 33-5, 13-1, 3-2.
Also Ran: Sky Field (Aus), Californiadeepshot (Aus), Mighty Giant (NZ), Lucky Express (Aus), Healthy Happy (Aus). Click for the HKJC.com chart, PPs and sectional timing. VIDEO. Click for the free Equineline.com catalog-style pedigree.

The post Russian Emperor Breaks Through in Hong Kong Gold Cup appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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For the record, Russian Emperor (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) was an eye-catching third over an insufficient trip, but all eyes were on the reigning Hong Kong Horse of the Year Golden Sixty, who jumped brilliantly from gate one, but then eased back to take up his customary position at the back, a few lengths less handy than last time in the G1 Longines Hong Kong Mile. Healthy Happy (Aus) (Zoustar {Aus}) lobbed them along up front, but Zac Purton had Waikuku right at his flank through an opening 800 metres in :49.47, some eight to nine lengths off standard time, as Golden Sixty raced keenly and tactically disadvantaged beneath Vincent Ho.

Steered out and around Hong Kong Mile runner-up More Than This (GB) (Dutch Art {GB}) at the three-furlong pole, having continued to race freely, and losing crucial ground in the process, Golden Sixty had clear sailing into the stretch, but Waikuku raced to the front with a bit more than 300 metres to travel and the alarm bells would have been sounded. Though he was able to produce his typical barnstorming finish, with a final quarter-mile in :21.95, Golden Sixty had simply been set a task too tall. Unlike when he managed to scrape home in the 2020 Hong Kong Derby off a similarly slow tempo, he could not do so this time, and Waikuku was able to cause the upset. It was a seventh Stewards' Cup for trainer John Size.

“I was really happy with the way the race was run, I was in a lovely rhythm and I knew he was going to give me a kick but with Golden Sixty in the race, you're never home until you pass the post,” said Purton, who only recently returned from injuries suffered in that horror fall in the Hong Kong Sprint six weeks ago. “He's run many horses down the last few years, he's a champion and obviously the race wasn't run to suit him today.”

Golden Sixty was tasting defeat for the first time in 30 months.

“The horse is OK–he appears to have pulled up well,” trainer Francis Lui said. “It was just the draw. The way the race was run, he needed to be closer but, from the inside, it wasn't possible today.”

Winner of this race in 2020 when favoured at 1-2, the 2019 Derby runner-up was exiting a three-lengths' seventh to Golden Sixty in the international Mile Dec. 12, having previously run second to him in the G2 Jockey Club Mile Nov. 20.

Pedigree Notes:

Waikuku is one of two top-level scorers for the late Harbour Watch (Ire), the other being G1 Coronation Cup hero Pyledriver (GB), a latest second in the G1 Longines Hong Kong Vase last month.

London Plane is also the dam of breeder Shane Molan's Dancing Rebel (Ire) (Highland Reel {Ire}), who broke his maiden over five furlongs at the Curragh Oct. 14, a newly turned 2-year-old colt by Australia (GB) and a yearling filly by Harbour Watch's sire Acclamation (GB).

Sunday, Sha Tin, Hong Kong
STEWARDS' CUP-G1, HK$12,000,000 (£1,137,224/€1,358,861/
A$2,147,623/US$1,541,185), Sha Tin, 1-23, 3yo/up, 1600mT, 1:34:82, gd.
1–WAIKUKU (IRE), 126, g, 7, by Harbour Watch (Ire)
1st Dam: London Plane (Ire), by Danehill Dancer (Ire)
2nd Dam: Aunt Julia (GB), by In the Wings (GB)
3rd Dam: Original (GB), by Caerleon
(€33,000 Ylg '16 TISEP). O-Jocelyn Siu Yang Hin Tang; B-Shane Molan; T-John Size; J-Zac Purton; HK$6,840,000. Lifetime Record: 25-9-5-2, HK$43,807,450. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Golden Sixty (Aus), 126, g, 6, Medaglia d'Oro–Gaudeamus, by Distorted Humor. (A$120,000 Ylg '17 MMGCYS; NZ$300,000 2yo '17 NZBRTR). O-Stanley Chan Ka Leung; B-Asco International Pty Ltd (Qld); T-Francis Lui Kin-wai; J-Vincent Ho Chak-yiu; HK$2,640,000.
3–Russian Emperor (Ire), 126, g, 5, Galileo (Ire)–Atlantic Jewel (Aus), by Fastnet Rock (Aus). O-Mike Cheung Shun Ching; B-Coolmore, Lauri Macri & Partners; T-Douglas Whyte; J-Blake Shinn; HK$1,200,000.
Margins: 3/4, 3/4, 1HF. Odds: 14-1, 0.05, 24-1.
Also Ran: More Than This (GB), Sky Darci (NZ), Healthy Happy (Aus), Kings Shield. Click for the HKJC.com chart, PPs and sectional timing. Click for the free Equineline.com catalog-style pedigree.

Stronger Gives Whyte First Group 1 As a Trainer…

The rare entire horse in Hong Kong, A$1.05 Inglis Easter graduate Stronger (Aus) (Not A Single Doubt {Aus}) rallied from the back of the field and just outfinished G1 Longines Hong Kong Sprint winner Sky Field (Aus) (Deep Field {Aus}) to give former jockey Douglas Whyte his first Group 1 success as a conditioner in Sunday's Centenary Sprint Cup at Sha Tin.

Away alertly for Vincent Ho, Stronger allowed the speedier early types to go on with it and raced with only Sky Field behind him, as Computer Patch (Aus) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}) and Courier Wonder (NZ) (Sacred Falls {NZ}) went a solid gallop up front. Eased out into about the six path as the field hit the straight, with Sky Field now alongside, Stronger (1098 pounds) was roused to the front inside the furlong marker and managed to hold the physically more imposing and similarly colored Sky Field (1205 pounds) in the run to the line.

A Group 3 winner in Australia for Peter and Paul Snowden, Stronger won one of nine starts for trainer John Moore in 2019/2020 and joined the Whyte yard upon the latter's compulsory retirement last season. Stronger scored in his first run for the barn in November 2020, and though he had dropped his last 13 races, posted board finishes four times at group level, earning the right to soldier on. He was most recently fifth in the Sprint Dec. 12.

Pedigree Notes:

Stronger becomes the 16th Group 1 winner for the pensioned Not A Single Doubt (Aus) and his second in Hong Kong, joining the recently retired G1 Champions Mile hero and multiple Stewards' Cup placegetter Southern Legend (Aus).

Stronger is out of a winning daughter of three-time listed winner and Group 1-placed Ain't Seen Nothin, dam of Singapore Horse of the Year Stepitup (Aus) (Hussonet); GSW Bachman (Aus) (All American {Aus}); and Ain'tnofallenstar (NZ) (Starcraft {NZ}), herself responsible for SW Ain'tnodeeldun (Aus) (Dundeel {NZ}).

Star Pupil is the dam of a yearling filly by Pariah (Aus), a filly foal by Snitzel (Aus) and visited the latter again last November.

Sunday, Sha Tin, Hong Kong
CENTENARY SPRINT CUP-G1, HK$12,000,000 (£1,137,224/
€1,358,861/A$2,147,623/US$1,541,185), Sha Tin, 1-23, 3yo/up, 1200mT, 1:08.78, gd.
1–STRONGER (AUS), 126, h, 5, by Not A Single Doubt (Aus)
1st Dam: Star Pupil (Aus), by Starcraft (NZ)
2nd Dam: Ain't Seen Nothin' (Aus), by Nothin' Leica Dane (Aus)
3rd Dam: Icecapade (Aus), by Genghiz
1ST GROUP 1 WIN. (A$1,050,000 Ylg '18 INGEAS). O-Cheung Hon Kit, Joanna Cheung Wai Sze & Jonathan Cheung Yu Shing; B-Arrowfield Pastoral Pty Ltd & Planette Thoroughbred (NSW); T-Douglas Whyte; J-Vincent Ho Chak-yiu; HK$6,840,000. Lifetime Record: GSW-Aus, 31-6-7-3, HK$17,281,510. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Sky Field (Aus), 126, g, 5, Deep Field (Aus)–Laravissante (NZ), by O'Reilly (NZ). (NZ$175,000 Ylg '18 NZBJAN). O-Kwan Shiu Man, Jessica Kwan Mun Hang & Jeffrey Kwan Chun Ming; B-M Ryan (NSW); T-Caspar Fownes; J-Blake Shinn; HK$2,640,000.
3–Hot King Prawn (Aus), 126, g, 7, Denman (Aus)–De Chorus (Aus), by Unbridled's Song. (A$90,000 Ylg '16 INGFEB). O-Lak Sau Hong; B-Torryburn Stud (NSW); T-John Size; J-Zac Purton; HK$1,200,000.
Margins: HD, HF, HF. Odds: 17-1, 31-10, 67-10.
Also Ran: Wellington (Aus), Super Wealthy (Aus), Courier Wonder (NZ), Master Eight (Aus), Computer Patch (Aus). Click for the HKJC.com chart, PPs and sectional timing. Click for the free Equineline.com catalog-style pedigree.

The post Waikuku Stuns The World In Stewards’ Cup appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Yoshito Yahagi's globetrotting mare has flown the Hinomaru flag from Dubai to Hong Kong and on to the USA then back to Sha Tin again in 2021, leading home a Japanese 1-2-3-4 in the G1 FWD Queen Elizabeth II Cup (2000m) in April and then creating history by becoming the first horse from her nation to score at the Breeders' Cup.

Hong Kong's richest race had been nominated as the final race of the Deep Impact mare's career soon after she crossed the line in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf (2200m) at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif., on November 6.

Her fifth long flight of the year took her annual distance covered to over 20,000 miles but Loves Only You was produced in perfect condition and completed the final leg of her global odyssey with a last-gasp success under the coolest of rides from Yuga Kawada.

The 36-year-old rider, who was extremely fortunate not to be brought down when previous winner Danon Smash was badly hampered in a dramatic G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint (1200m) earlier in the day, was understandably thrilled to record his first HKIR success. “Thank you very much, I'm very proud,” he said.

“She jumped well. The pace was a bit slow but then she relaxed and I was able to find a good position. She's given me two big presents and is the best female horse I've ever ridden. I hope she will be a good mother.”

Sent off the 2.6 market leader, Loves Only You jumped alertly from stall four and was soon traveling keenly just behind a steady early pace set by Mac Swiney, Ka Ying Star, and the wide-running Bolshoi Ballet.

Russian Emperor made a bold move to hit the front as a packing field jostled for position early in the home straight but last season's BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m) runner-up edged right with his tongue lolling out as he did so, placing Loves Only You in a pocket on the inner at a crucial point.

Hishi Iguazu produced a storming run from the rear on the outside soon after under Joao Moreira to draw level briefly well inside the final furlong.

However, Kawada had Loves Only You in full stride by this stage and the five-year-old repeated her Del Mar heroics, quickening valiantly between horses under pressure to lead close home and beat her fellow Japanese raider by a short head.

Russian Emperor ran the race of his life for Douglas Whyte and Blake Shinn to finish a length away in third, while British raider Dubai Honour never looked like becoming the first European runner to win the Cup since Snow Fairy in 2010 but stayed on powerfully for fourth once in the clear for William Haggas and Tom Marquand.

Three years on from seeing his star filly Lys Gracieux beaten narrowly by Exultant in the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Vase (2400m), winning trainer Yoshito Yahagi was completing an incredible end to 2021 which has also produced a 50-1 Breeders' Cup Distaff success for Marche Lorraine and a commanding Japan Cup success for his superstar colt Contrail.

The colorful 60-year-old was unable to accompany Loves Only You on the final leg of her journey but his stable representative Yusaku Oka was on hand to savor a perfect finale.

“I'm so glad to win this race for our trainer, who is watching on in Japan,” he said.

“She won the Breeders' Cup very well and in the spring she came over here and had a good result, so we were always confident she would run well.

“She's got a good pedigree – so we are looking forward to the next stage of her career – and as we have quite a lot of good horses in the stable we hope we will be back in Hong Kong with them in the future.”

Dusk was gathering over Sha Tin as an elated Kawada left the racecourse on a day that illustrated every aspect of the joy and pain that defines racing at the highest level.

The sun is also setting on Loves Only You's racing career but, if the 2021 edition of the LONGINES Hong Kong International Races confirmed one thing, it is that the Land of the Rising Sun is now a true powerhouse on the global racing stage.

Following in the footsteps of A Shin Hikari, Maurice, Win Bright, and Normcore, this success for Loves Only You means Japan has now won five of the last seven Hong Kong Cups and four of the eight HKIR races run in the last two years.

HKJC racecaller Mark McNamara summed up the latest thrilling finish to Hong Kong's most cherished prize by saying: “It's Japan 1-2, Loves Only You says sayonara with the Cup!”

Leave them wanting more is never a bad motto. But, who knows, maybe Japan's latest Cup queen will have a son or daughter to represent her on the LONGINES HKIR stage in years to come.

The post Loves Only You Finishes Career With Hong Kong Cup Victory appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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The former Aidan O'Brien galloper was no factor and well beaten in his first two local appearances, including a ninth to the upset-minded Excellent Proposal (Aus) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}) in the Hong Kong Classic Mile in January. But trainer Douglas Whyte added blinkers for the Classic Cup and Russian Emperor hit the line hard to miss by a neck to Healthy Happy (Aus) (Zoustar {Aus}), who enjoyed a very soft time of it in front.

“He'll get the trip and plus, so he's going to have every answer–that's the beauty of being drawn where he is,” the 'Durban Demon' said. “[Jockey] Karis [Teetan] can now use the draw and ride a race.”

If that version of Russian Emperor shows up, they may all be running for second, but three-time Derby-winning conditioner John Size will try to make his presence felt with a trio of entrants. The highest-rated of them is Excellent Proposal, who returned a colossal $23 (22-1) in the Classic Mile and was one of several inconvenienced by the lack of pace in the Classic Cup. He has gate eight for Blake Shinn, who nearly pulled the upset in last year's Derby with 289-1 Playa Del Puente (Ire) (Elzaam {Aus}).

“I'm pretty comfortable with barrier eight, it's a middle of the line draw, he'll have all the main chances around us–I'm happy,” Shinn said.

David Hayes is in the Derby in his first season back in Hong Kong, having saddled the filly Elegant Fashion (Aus) (Danewin {Aus}) in 2003. The more likely of his two runners appears to be the classy Shadow Hero (Aus) (Pierro {Aus}), who rallied from midpack to be third in the Classic Cup. While he drew nicely in seven, stablemate Conqueror (Aus) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) was less fortunate to land 13.

Sky Darci (NZ) (Darci Brahma {NZ}) carries the highest local rating of 103 into the Derby, and while Sunday's 10-furlong trip looms a bit of a question, his chances to stay were enhanced when he and leading rider Joao Moreira pulled gate two Thursday.

“I'm very pleased with that draw–he needs a soft gate and I'm very happy, it's going to give him his chance,” said trainer Caspar Fownes, whose Super Satin (NZ) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}) was piloted by Whyte when taking out the Derby back in 2010.

Our special BMW Hong Kong Derby cheat sheet will appear in Saturday's TDN Europe/International edition.

The post Luck of Hong Kong Derby Draw Favours Russian Emperor appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Bred in Kentucky by Ran Jan Racing Inc. and trained by Aidan O'Brien for Peter Brant, Michael Tabor, Sue Magnier and Derrick Smith, the $750,000 Keeneland September yearling purchase won on Naas debut in April 2019 to become American Pharoah's first winner before finishing runner-up to Siskin (First Defence) in the G2 Railway S. and in the G1 Keeneland Phoenix S. (video).

Beaten just over five lengths behind Siskin in last year's COVID-delayed G1 Irish 2000 Guineas June 12, the bay returned on six days' rest to be second in the G3 Jersey S. at Royal Ascot (video) and makes his first appearance since finishing fifth in the G3 Ballysax S. over the Dundalk all-weather last June.

Now conditioned by Douglas Whyte, Congratulation (no 's') has trialled three times and has been the subject of positive reports. His most recent jump-out came over the Sha Tin dirt track Feb. 2 (video), when he ran on nicely from midfield to be second to the talented California Rad (Aus) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}), who he meets again Sunday.

#TheEyecatcher He's the kid from America…

American Pharoah's first runner Monarch Of Egypt wins well at Naas for the Ballydoyle team and is set for #RoyalAscot now

Track this one!
>>> https://t.co/dbnTfxWtSD pic.twitter.com/VFOIO38aM8

— Racing TV (@RacingTV) April 13, 2019

Congratulation debuts off a lofty local rating of 89 in the 110-85 event and will carry 113 pounds, some 20 pounds fewer than top-weighted MGSP Fat Turtle (Aus) (Smart Missile {Aus}). Keith Yeung rides from gate seven in a competitive field of nine.

“He's settled in well and he's a lovely horse–he's obviously thrown in the deep end for his first run, but having said that, he's had a very good grounding with three trials leading in to this and he's progressively improved with every trial,” Whyte told the Hong Kong Jockey Club's Declan Schuster.

He continued, “I'm going in hopeful that he'll run well, the way that he has progressively increased his competitiveness at the trials shows to me that he's at the right frame both mentally and physically to run a race–it's a small field, it's a competitive field but he's got the quality behind him. He's taken time to adjust– he's been running on tracks with a bit of give in them and he's hit the tracks here and it's just taken time for him to adjust to the firmer tracks, which he has done now. He's on the right track–I have no doubt that he is going to show his true ability going forward and it's his first run, but he has a lovely galloping weight–he's certainly in there with a chance.”

Congratulation is a son of Up (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), a dual winner at Group level in Ireland and second in the G1 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches in 2012, and a half-sister to G1SW Dutch Art (GB) (Medicean {GB}).

The Chinese New Year Cup goes as race eight on an 11-race program Sunday, with post time set for 4.05pm local time (8.05am GMT).

The post American Pharoah Represented By First Hong Kong Starter appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Moore is in his corner on the first floor of the Sha Tin trainers' stand. It's been his morning perch since 1985, a prime spot with a direct view up the dirt track's finishing straight. From this vantage, he has called out countless instructions to work riders; he has watched Beauty Generation's bullyboy bravado and Able Friend's amiably belligerent daily pause; and he has held court – when the 'internationals' arrive each December, Moore's corner is ever a hive of visitors, old friends chatting and agents angling.

His work-watching routine doesn't deviate much: he parks his blue-trimmed white bicycle by the running rail, takes a leather folder from the front basket and unhooks what looks like a black zip-up washbag from the handlebars; he crosses the turf course, ascends the narrow switchback stairs to his familiar berth, opens the little bag and unpacks binoculars, pen and stopwatch.

He copies the numbers from the handheld clock's digital display on to a sheet of paper placed on the left side of the folder.

“He's a workaholic, he's a neatness freak,” says Douglas Whyte, the 13-time champion jockey-turned trainer who observed Moore closely before setting up his own stable. “But more than anything,” he adds, “it's his timing, especially with the big races; he gets a horse on song and gets him to blossom at the right time.”

Moore first clocked horses one morning 52 years ago when, at age 18, his feet took their belated maiden step on to a racecourse. That day set the counter on a span that has taken him to horse racing's pinnacle; Hong Kong's best-known trainer, a seven-time champion, the city's big-race maestro and the handler of champions, the one with the most wins on the board and stakes money in the bank.

But, on 15 July, his time will run out; rules are rules, and, at age 70, the Hong Kong Jockey Club's compulsory retirement will take effect and his Hong Kong era will end. Moore, who bridges right back to the months leading into Hong Kong's professional dawn, will pack up his safari suits, panama hats and ready soundbites, and depart for Rosehill Gardens racecourse in Sydney, not too far from where it all began in an old gypsy caravan at Randwick.

The accidental trainer

Riding horses was a staple of Moore's upbringing – “it probably goes back to the first time I sat on a horse at one and a half, or two” – he was immaculate in the show ring, and he cut his racing teeth in boyhood pony races against his brother Gary on the family property.

His father, George Moore, was one of the world's finest riders, a champion jockey worthy of the oft over-used 'great' epithet, who achieved fame and fortune not only at home in Australia, but also in Britain, France and the United States; a rider associated with doyens and legends of the turf like Prince Aly Khan and Alec Head, T. J. Smith and Tulloch, Noel Murless and Jim Joel – and the last-named pair's Derby-winning champion Royal Palace. His dad's sister, Margaret, was married to jockey Garnet Bougoure.

But, while Gary, two years his junior, was developing towards a career as an elite jockey in his own right – apprenticed at 15 to no less a master than the aforementioned Head – Moore's cricket and rugby at Cranbrook School in Sydney kept him busy most days, including weekends. Afternoons at the races just didn't fit his schedule.

“I captained the school rifle club, too, would you believe?” he says, and his rifle once felled a kangaroo at Yarraman Park, the stud farm his father sold on to the Mitchell family in 1968. He put the hide to good use, adorning what was then his absolute pride and joy, a white Mini Cooper S with red upholstery and mechanical foibles that played a hand in changing the course of his life.

“I loved my Cooper S; I took the kangaroo, it was the worst skinning you've ever seen, but I made it as the car's console and the gear stick,” he recalls, with a grin.

Moore relates how he was working at a stock broker firm, Patrick (Levy) & Co., when, after a late Friday night at The Oak in Double Bay, his Cooper S caused a stern confrontation with his father.

“I was in the two-car garage, below dad's bedroom, and I couldn't turn the engine off; I'd just put a new choke cable on and I had trouble, I had to jump out, lift the bonnet and release that choke cable that had caught on the throttle,” he says.

“I knew what was going to happen; dad was waiting at the front door for me. And he gave it to me: 'Son, you don't know how much work I go through to take weight off and ride the next day, you're going to go to the track and you're going to learn.' And that's how I came to be in an old wooden gypsy wagon at Randwick with Tommy Smith.”

He remembers the curved roof and a spartan interior containing some seats and a shelf.

“We'd look straight out, the horses would come over, and Mr. Smith and the other trainers would be giving them instructions,” he continues. “He gave me a clock; I'd never clocked a horse before, I'd never been to the track before. He said to me, 'Here's a clock, son, look over there at the half-mile and start clocking'. Dad's riding trackwork and I'm up in the gypsy wagon!”

He told Smith he could ride and within days he was riding trackwork. Another trainer, Darby Armstrong, approached him and before he knew it, he was riding as an amateur at 'picnic' races, starting out at Campbelltown.

“Mum was kind enough to take me in the Jaguar and I arrived like King Farouk!” he laughs. “I fell off at the start of the cup but got back on and ran second, and finished leading jockey on the day; I came home with about 100 bucks in my pocket and I said 'how long's this been going on?'”

He rode the picnic circuit once a week with Joe Manning booking his rides, and then he was called home to the family's new property, Hopewood, a cattle ranch near Gundagai, New South Wales; George had taken a bad fall at Canterbury and would be out of action for a period of months. The cattle needed tending, Moore's stockbroking job in the city was suddenly over and he was about to get his first experience as a racehorse trainer.

His father got hold of three horses for him, the aged but high-class Amusement Park and Beautirage, and a capable maiden, Border King, “for dad to have a bet”. Moore opened two gates and drove a John Deere tractor with a disc plough to “turn the red soil” and make an uphill gallop, a rough copy of what he had seen in Newmarket in the summer of 1967.

“Dad said 'you're going to do everything'. The only thing I didn't do was farrier, but I still had to learn how to pull a shoe off. So, I've gone from 'Pitt Street farmer' to full-on horse trainer,” he says, referencing Sydney's downtown business district.

“If I didn't work them in the morning, I rode them out on cattle work all day – it was a pure cattle ranch, no broodmares. That's how I got into it. We had a two-horse float and I'd go to the race meetings.”

The first time he saddled runners was at Tumut picnics in southern New South Wales and George went with him.

“If I remember right, Amusement Park won the Cup and Border King won the maiden – I think I rode three winners on the day – but the general manager got drunk at the bar and forgot to put the money on and dad blew up; we won but dad always said I was the worst rider he'd ever seen!” Moore laughs.

“Dad had the name but he made sure I started with an appreciation of what it's like at the bottom; I had to muck out and he said to me, 'you make sure you're on the job by eight o'clock'. Overalls and a pair of galoshes, that's what I wore every day until I could drive out of there and head back to the life I liked. But that was the basis to me becoming a horse trainer – I'm the accidental trainer!”

Best of the best

It was the morning after the 2014 LONGINES Hong Kong International Races. The winter sun was low but bright, a warming foil to the chill wind that blustered off the Shing Mun River and whipped sand in a skin-stinging dance around the Sha Tin yard.

Crouched in a saddling stall, sheltered behind a wood chip board, Moore and Joao Moreira hunched low on small plastic stools that would have comfortably seated a pair of pre-schoolers, and they laughed.

“We're up in the stratosphere! We're still there, we haven't come down yet,” Moore said, and he beamed like the Cranbrook schoolboy he once was.

“It's like we're drunk or something,” Moreira chipped in. “The feeling is something else.”

Trainer and jockey had, the previous afternoon, carried off Hong Kong's two richest prizes: the street-fighting Designs On Rome had seen off former stablemate Military Attack in a head-bobber to win the LONGINES Hong Kong Cup and Able Friend had taken quickening strides towards greatness with an imperious victory in the LONGINES Hong Kong Mile.

“It's the biggest result of my career,” Moore asserted as he sat there.

His reputation as a big-occasion trainer was booming; it was nine months after Sterling City gave him a bedazzling success on the globally-significant Dubai World Cup night, but a time before Werther, Rapper Dragon and Beauty Generation came along and added further layers of gilded gloss.

Now, more than five and a half years on, the eye-catching haul of big-race wins and the champions Moore has nurtured set him apart from his Hong Kong peers. He has 61 wins in Hong Kong races designated Group 1, or the old HKG1 from before the Hong Kong Jockey Club gained 'Blue Book' recognition; his fully-fledged G1 tally stands at 36, with four of those achieved overseas.

John Size has an outstanding 11 premierships, but, by comparison, his tally of G1 wins comes in at 13, while fellow champion trainers Tony Cruz and Caspar Fownes have 22 and six such successes.

“It's going to be very hard to replace him. I don't know if you can replace like for like,” says Beauty Generation's regular partner Zac Purton.

With two race meetings to go, Moore has accrued a Hong Kong record 1,734 wins from 16,330 runners, and prize money approaching an unsurpassed HK$2.1 billion; he was the first trainer in the city to reach 1000 wins, the first to break the HK$1 billion mark, the first to train a horse to win all three legs of the Classic Series; he has won the Hong Kong Derby a record six times; his stars have taken the coveted Hong Kong Horse of the Year title nine times, and two of those, the mighty Able Friend and Beauty Generation, are the co-highest rated gallopers in Hong Kong history.

He is Hong Kong's undisputed big-race king, but it wasn't always so. “I was a slow starter,” he says, recalling his early years as a licensed trainer.

World view pays off

Moore's life and career reveal a knack for spotting an opportunity's potential at an early stage, or tapping an emerging trend and capitalising. That was the case in the spring of 1971 when he arrived at Kai Tak airport via France and Singapore, and realised something possibly big was brewing in Hong Kong. His father knew the chief steward's brother, helped him get a licence, and he rode the final months of the last amateur season, then stayed on as a professional.

“I lived on Kowloon-side in a little 200 square-foot room,” he recalls of those days when, every morning, he and fellow rider Geoff Lane would take a stomach-churning journey across Victoria Harbour in a walla-walla, a small water taxi.

“When the professional season was about to start, Geoff was one of those invited to ride: Gumbleton, 'Flapper' Yates, Bobby Elliott; a few of the amateurs kept going, the MacMillan brothers kept riding for a season or two after that.”

But his father was about to set up in Chantilly, France, training for big-hitting American owner Nelson Bunker-Hunt; Moore was flown to the United States for a meeting, the idea being he would be part of the set-up too, but his head – if not yet his heart – was already in Hong Kong. He turned down the offer and returned to Asia.

Gary flew in for a visit and by 1972 the Chantilly experiment was over, his father followed and the whole George Moore clan was in situ, together, in an apartment close to Happy Valley racecourse. The patriarch and great jockey-turned trainer gave the new pro racing scene the kudos it required, with youngest son riding as stable jockey – between carving out his own impressive collection of majors in Australia and Europe – and eldest as the back-up: “I was more dad's lead work rider,” Moore says.

That didn't stop him collecting 23 wins – the first being Connetable – from 304 rides as a jockey between March 1971 and the 1976/77 season. In the first season of the professional era, Hong Kong staged only 258 races, rising to 411 in Moore's final season as a rider.

By 1985 he had gained experience observing and working with some of the world's best trainers – Kevin Prendergast in Ireland, Colin Hayes in Australia and Charlie Whittingham in the United States.

“The feeding in America, it was amazing; I turned everything around for dad with nutrition, that was the key, turning around from the old oats, maize, barley, wheat. What Charlie Whittingham was feeding on top of the grain was amazing. And, you know what, today I still have my little pad; I wrote everything down, the way he fed, the times he fed, leading into races – I noted everything in that notepad and kept it,” he says.

When George, Hong Kong's dominant trainer with 11 championships on the board, decided that year to retire after heart bypass surgery, Moore stepped in.

“I was leading trainer in my first season but that's because of what dad left me. I think I would have had to have been pretty bad not to be,” he says of that first campaign, which yielded 48 wins from a 482-race season.

“I had so much to learn, even though I'd spent time with some of the world's greats. I needed time. It took me a long time to come to grips with being a confident trainer; it was trial and error, until I learned how to kick a horse's programme off. I needed to learn management and the ability to go to yearling sales and also buy tried horses worldwide. I learned nothing about yearlings from 1971 until the early '80s, that's one thing I was missing.”

He turned to bloodstock agent John Foote, a connection through jockey Brent Thompson from his time spent at Lindsay Park with Hayes. Foote helped Moore's Australian sourcing and the combination brought the handler a Stewards' Cup winner in 1987, Distinction. Motivation came in from Argentina and won the 1993 Hong Kong Invitational Cup, now the G1 Hong Kong Cup, and in the later 1990s they spread their net to the United States.

“I bought John Size's number one miler at Keeneland,” he says. “People think Ricky Yiu bought Electronic Unicorn, it's totally wrong, I picked the horse out with John Foote; I fell out with the owner and within three months of him entering the stable he had moved him to Ricky Yiu, and then he was Horse of the Year for John Size.”

Moore had seen rival champion trainer Brian Kan start to enjoy success with European imports and he spotted an opportunity to tap the same pool but with the intention to snare nicer types. Foote connected him to Luke Lillingston and from that came a successful association with Alastair Donald. The 21st century saw Moore's stock improve as he purchased tried European horses of higher quality – and he did the leg-work, going to Europe, attending Ascot and Goodwood, flying over to Ireland.

“I remember one day we set off from Brighton, I think it was, and went all the way up to the north, to Scotland, to see a horse; we went everywhere,” Moore says, throwing his arm out to emphasise the distances he would travel.

From starting out, it took him almost 10 years to get his first real star, the New Zealand import and 1995 Hong Kong Derby hero, Makarpura Star; it was another 11 before his next champ won the same contest, Viva Pataca, a US$1 million buy for Stanley Ho, out of Sir Mark Prescott's Newmarket yard. But, since 2006, it's been 'viva' almost all the way.

“John's willingness to go out on a limb and procure a good horse has been outstanding as far as Hong Kong racing is concerned,” observes rival champion Size. “He's been an exceptional example of someone who can acquire a horse from overseas and win big races in Hong Kong with it, which is no mean feat. It's difficult to get horses from Europe and Australia to make the adaption and go on and be Group 1 horses – he's done that very successfully.”

With so few G1 races on the Hong Kong calendar before the turn-of-the-century, Moore's first arrived 22 years into his training career, in 2007, when Able One and Viva Pataca won the Champions Mile and QEII Cup; remarkably, Moore saddled the same pair to win the same two races fully three years later.

Having found his stride, he didn't falter. The G1 winners kept coming, mostly from his summer European scouting trips: Xtension, Dan Excel, Military Attack, Dominant and Designs On Rome. But success brought a cost, the rising price of those European horses to eye-watering levels. He spread his net wider again; he looked back to Australia for tried gallopers, and in came Werther, Rapper Dragon and Beauty Generation, while the southern hemisphere yearling sales yielded Able Friend and the unfulfilled brilliance of Aethero.

Champions and beyond

Ask Moore on most given days to recall his finest career moments and his response would be restrained, almost evasive, making plain that he lives more for the next big win than for dwelling on past glories. But in Able Friend and Beauty Generation he nurtured two horses of such outstanding ability that it would be nigh on impossible for any trainer not to reflect on their achievements somewhat wistfully.

Able Friend had a stunning burst of speed that belied his hulking chestnut frame. The Shamardal gelding vied for four-year-old honours with fellow Horse of the Year and stablemate Designs On Rome, and then dominated the Hong Kong mile scene for a season; he was even designated world champion sprinter after a sensational last-to-first win under a hefty top-weight in the G2 Premier Bowl Handicap (1200m).

“You can have favourites and you can have the best. Able Friend, we had him from day one, we bought him at the yearling sales and he went on to be world champion miler,” he says and leaves it there.

Moore and son George purchased Able Friend for AU$500,000 and the gelding took the stable to its highest peak. Incredibly, within three years, Moore matched that summit – some would argue surpassed it – with Beauty Generation, a New Zealand-bred bought privately out of Australia, where he was G1-placed as a three-year-old.

Beauty Generation evolved from Derby wannabe to juggernaut miler, an eight-time G1 winner, a two-time Horse of the Year, Hong Kong's record stakes earner – topping Viva Pataca – and the first horse to break the HK$100 million earnings barrier. At his peak, he was invincible, and Moore made him so.

“Beauty Generation, I had to work out what I was doing with him,” he says. “Was I going to concentrate on what was not only his physique but also what was offered on the programme? He came here as a horse who could go 2000 metres, he holds the 2200-metre track record here at Sha Tin. But the change was two-fold: to my eye, he looked like a sprinter-miler, and then there was the fact that we have so many mile and 1400-metre races on the programme, that was a big factor.”

Moore's skill at bringing in a horse from overseas and being able to acclimatise it, and school it in the tough Hong Kong environment, has been a hallmark of his career. Able Friend's old partner Moreira, notes that “he brings them over and then is able to rise them and get them to perform at their very best,” and that is no easy feat. Plenty of big-reputation imports have flopped, and Moore himself has had his share of failures, but no other trainer has succeeded in producing champions in Hong Kong like he has.

“People ask how do I peak a horse? As far as I'm concerned, it's knowing the horse, really understanding that individual. It's not training stereo style,” he says.

“It's all individual, I treat every horse so differently because I just love the animal so much. If I trained a few hundred horses, I'd feel guilty, I'd be missing something. With 70 horses in Hong Kong, I can know the horses. With more than 100, I'd miss something, like Thanks Forever, he looked like the worst of the lot, with his terrible action, but you get to understand the horse and nurture him and accept him for what he is, and then he's placing in Group 1 races.”

Moore will take that method forward, for his Hong Kong departure is also an Australian return. He has unfinished business and he believes he has time still to complete, with a small string of about 20 or so horses and the backing of owners like the Kwok family, Bon Ho, Matthew Wong and Arrowfield Stud. He will take his stopwatch and his binoculars, and five decades of experience, and he will try to get the remaining bucket list item he most desires.

“I want that Group 1 win in Australia. I got one as an owner with Eagle Way – Bryan Guy trained him – but I want a Group 1 there as a trainer,” he says, his eyes narrowing.

Australia is his future. When the lights go out at Happy Valley on Wednesday, 15 July, for the first time since 1971, John Moore will not be a licensed participant on the Hong Kong racing circuit. That time is up.

The post Unfinished Business: Hong Kong Champion Trainer John Moore Returning Home To Australia appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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