Beauty Waves wins Group 3 National Day Cup
Beauty Waves (Starspangledbanner) continued an impressive rise through Hong Kong’s sprint ranks with victory in the National Day Cup Handicap (Gr 3, 1000m) at Sha Tin on Tuesday as Pierre Ng and Alexis Badel combined successfully with the former Irish speedster.
Beaten on his previous start by highly rated Ka Ying Rising (Shamepress), Beauty Waves took his record since joining Ng’s stable to four wins, two seconds and a third from seven starts, while Badel posted his second victory in the National Day Cup after previously winning it on Super Wealthy (Epaulette).
Settling fifth behind pace-setter Nervous Witness (Star Witness), Beauty Waves forged stylishly into contention as Badel allowed the gelding to build momentum before striking the lead 150 metres from the line to down Magic Control (Sioux Nation) by half a length.
Whizz Kid (Shalaa) was third, a further three quarters of a length away in 55.72s.
Last year’s winner Stoltz (More Than Ready) was scratched on veterinary grounds before the race, while Chairman’s Sprint Prize (Gr 1, 1200m) winner Invincible Sage (Thronum) finished sixth, four lengths behind Beauty Waves.
Ng indicated his planning with Beauty Waves would be dictated by how high the 93-rater rises in the handicap following Tuesday’s triumph.
“He improves every race for me. Last time we were running against a very good horse [Ka Ying Rising] and he still ran second. He did everything well today,” Ng said. “We’ll see how many points he’s going to be put up.”
Badel said: “I was confident. He’s a good horse, he only got beaten last time by a very special horse. Coming back to a shorter trip didn’t worry me. He’s got class and he’s got speed. He began very well and I didn’t want to face the breeze the whole way. I was just trying to rate him as good as possible and his class with the light weight [115lb] made the difference.”
With eight winners for the season, Ng (pictured below) maintained his lead at the top of the trainers’ championship over Danny Shum, Caspar Fownes and Mark Newnham – all with seven wins – when Drombeg Banner (Starspangledbanner) claimed the Class 2 Beijing Handicap (1400m) under Andrea Atzeni.
Hugh Bowman made a successful return from illness with a double. The rider sprang into action atop The Khan (Acclamation) for Fownes in the Class 5 Shenyang Handicap (1400m) after being sidelined for Saturday’s Sha Tin meeting and missing the winning rides on Daily Trophy (Tarzino) and Rubylot (Rubick).
“I wouldn’t say I’m all over it [the illness], but my balance is back so that is the main thing,” Bowman said before partnering the David Hall-trained Geneva (Capitalist) to victory in the first section of the Class 4 Chongqing Handicap (1200m).
Dennis Yip snared a double with Great Spirit (American Pharoah), who won the first section of the Class 4 Chongqing Handicap (1200m) under Matthew Poon and View Of The World (Derryn), winner of the Class 4 Chengdu Handicap (1400m) for Zac Purton.
“He’s a nice horse. Last season he had two races and finished very well,” Yip said of View Of The World. “I know he can stay 1400 metres and I spoke to Zac after his Happy Valley trial and he said he would be fine. I decided to run over 1400 metres so Zac could ride for me.
“Later on, he might be able to go to a mile, he’s a very honest horse. We’ll stay at 1400 metres for now and let him mature for one or two races.”
Purton secured a double when Shum’s Packing Power (Toronado) maintained his unbeaten record after three starts with a strong win in the Class 3 Shanghai Handicap (1200m).
“He’s getting more switched on with his race craft every start, which is good,” Purton said. “It was nice that we were to get across in the manner that we did, but what I liked the most was the way he relaxed during the mid-stages of the race – he was off the bit, just cruising along waiting for the signal.
“It’s a good sign. So, he’ll give himself a chance to run a mile when he needs to. We’ll take our time.”
Michael Chang and Jerry Chau combined with Commanding Missile (Smart Missile) to land the Class 5 Nanning Handicap (1200m) before Newnham teamed with Lyle Hewitson to win the Class 4 Jinan Handicap (1800m) with Happy Hero (Pierro).
“He’s been a really good horse for the stable. He was our first winner in Hong Kong and now he’s got four wins and he’s graduated out of Class 5. He’s still improving,” Newnham said.
“He had a nice light weight [118lb] and had the benefit of having had a race already this season. Once he got in the clear he really let down strongly.
“I love him to bits because he’s a really genuine horse. When he arrived, he had ten starts and hadn’t run closer than eighth but I wasn’t in a position to be fussy. He really hasn’t put a foot wrong and he’s a really solid, durable and tough horse.”
Winning Gold (Brazen Beau) made it three wins in a row after steaming home under Keagan De Melo to land the Class 3 Tianjin Handicap (1400m) and shapes as a possible Four-Year-Old Classic Series contender for trainer Chris So.