Exultant takes Centenary Vase again as Cruz eyes Dubai
Exultant (Teofilo) imposed his authority on his local rivals and moved a step closer to a night in Dubai with a solid success in the Centenary Vase Handicap (Gr 3, 1800m) at Sha Tin yesterday.
Hong Kong’s champion stayer carried top-weight of 133lb (60 kg) to secure his second win in the contest and now takes aim at a follow-up in the Hong Kong Gold Cup (Gr 1, 2000m) in three weeks’ time. After that, trainer Tony Cruz has designs on the Dubai Sheema Classic (Gr 1, 2410m) at Meydan.
“Next race will be the Hong Kong Gold Cup and then we’ll decide whether we go to Dubai or not,” Cruz confirmed post-race. “I’m expecting to go because he’s not getting any younger and I think we’d better make a move and go to Dubai with him.
“I believe he can do something in Dubai, I believe he can prove himself and win that race. His form is good – it shows that he’s right up there with the best.”
Cruz was full of praise for Hong Kong’s champion stayer after what jockey Zac Purton described as a “dour” performance over a distance short of his optimum.
“He outclassed his field today,” the handler said. “I don’t think there was any outstanding opposition and I was expecting him to win.
“He’s turned into a very professional racehorse; he waits on the jockey to make the move. Zac knows this horse so well and he knows how to use his ability and that’s half the battle won really.”
Cruz believes the experienced galloper will have no issues coping with the travel to Dubai at the end of March should connections pursue that option.
“He’s a kids’ ride, an easy horse to handle and he has no sign of temperament at all; he’s laidback and does everything slowly and quietly. He’s sound, he never raises a sweat or gets excited – he’s an easy horse to train,” he said.
Purton positioned the three-time Group 1 winner a handy third, one spot off the rail, as Dark Dream (All American) set the tempo from Macau raider Sacred Capital (O’Reilly). The champ slipped to fourth as the tempo increased on the turn but responded to Purton’s urgings and ground his way to the lead with 300 metres remaining – from there on in, it was Exultant’s race.
The six-year-old boxed on to win by a length and a half from the late-closing Glorious Dragon (Teofilo), to whom he conceded 20lb (9kg).
“It was a very good performance,” Purton said. “Once again he felt very dour in the run today after the season he’s had so far. When I wanted to let him bring me into the race he wasn’t able to do it, I had to really get up him to get his momentum going carrying the big weight – you can’t let him get out-sprinted. It was just a good tough effort and it sets him up nicely for the Hong Kong Gold Cup.”
The Tony Millard-trained Glorious Dragon ran the race of his life to take fill the runner-up berth under Alexis Badel. The improving grey was 18lb (8kg) out of the handicap, off a rating of 91, but kept on despite a less-than-clear passage in the home run.
“He ran on nicely, he stays on well and he ran a very good race,” Badel said. “The horses from behind came on the turn and I had to wait a little bit because my horse wasn’t well-balanced but he overcame it and came home very strong.”
Cruz ended the day with a treble thanks to further wins from Sunshine Warrior (Pierro) in the Class 4 Red Packet Handicap (1400m) and God Of Dragon (Red Dazzler) in the Class 3 Kung Hei Handicap (2000m), both under Joao Moreira.
“It’s a big day, it’s always been a big day’s racing in the calendar here; Chinese New Year, it means a lot to win races on this day,” Cruz said.
Golden Sixty leads Lui one-two in Hong Kong Classic Mile
Golden Sixty (Medaglia D’Oro) burst into clear ground at the head of Hong Kong’s four-year-old pack with an impressive win in the Hong Kong Classic Mile (1600m), a result that bolstered trainer Francis Lui’s hand for the BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m).
Lui saddled two of Hong Kong’s brightest young stars in the Sha Tin feature and both came good: while Golden Sixty dazzled, More Than This (Dutch Art) showed Derby sparkle in second to ease the handler’s nerves.
“It’s a kind of relief – I was a little nervous and the closer we got to the race, the more nervous I felt,” Lui admitted after securing his first victory in the storied contest, the first leg in Hong Kong’s three-race Four-Year-Old Classic Series.
“Golden Sixty has done what has been asked of him every time,” Lui continued. “Last race he went 1400 metres, this race was a mile and next time will be 1800 metres in the Hong Kong Classic Cup, so we will take it step by step. If he runs well in the Classic Cup we will go to the Derby.”
The winner took his career tally to eight wins from nine starts and made it a perfect five this season, all under Vincent Ho who was also bagging a first Classic Mile success.
“He was a bit keen today and he took some time to settle but he still showed a good turn of foot,” the rider said. “He lay in a little bit, which made things a little bit harder, but he still won very easily.
“It’s just a matter of time for him, to pick him up, and I just have to be patient on him and then he will give me everything he has.”
Golden Sixty positioned third-last on the fence in the nine-runner contest, switched wide entering the straight and quickened decisively from 350 metres out to clock a closing 400 metre split of 22.24s, for a final time of 1m 33.61s.
More Than This, slowly away and settled at the tail, chased his stable mate under Ryan Moore, closing with intent from deep through a concluding split of 22.15s to finish a length and a quarter back.
“He’s a nice horse and he stayed on very well. I’m delighted with his run today,” said Moore, who had jetted in from a runner-up finish on Magic Wand (Galileo) in Saturday’s Pegasus World Cup Turf (Gr 1, 9.5f).
Lui, 61, had not tasted success in a four-year-old only major since Hello Pretty (Distorted Humour) took the 2006 Hong Kong Derby Tria (Listed, 1800m)l, now the Hong Kong Classic Cup. Golden Sixty and More Than This will step up to 1800m for the first time when they rematch in that second leg of the series on 23 February.
And while connections have long considered More Than This to be a dead-set stayer for the Derby, the speedier Golden Sixty has been pegged as a miler despite his sire being Medaglia D’Oro, a Grade 1 winner at 10 furlongs.
“From today, I think Golden Sixty can stay 1800 metres; he just needs to settle and give one strong kick and he can still produce that good turn of foot,” Ho said
Lui would not be drawn, at least not fully, on which of his two exciting gallopers might have the upper hand come the Derby on 22 March.
“I don’t know,” he said. “At this stage, I think it’s difficult to say but Ryan did say More Than This will improve over further; he was a bit lazy and he needs a faster pace to help him but it was a very good ride from Ryan.
“I think More Than This can handle the Derby distance, and Golden Sixty, the next race is the Classic Cup, so I’ll take it step by step but the main target for both is the Derby.”
Champion’s Way (Hinchinbrook), the highest-rated of his generation at the start of the season, took third under Karis Teetan for trainer John Size; stablemate Beauty Legacy (Fiorente), the mount of Joao Moreira, ran on for fourth after throwing his head around during the early part of the race.
“As I indicated before the race, he’s still doing lots of things wrong,” Moreira said. “He’s still immature and I don’t think that was a bad result at the end of the day, I think he ran a good race and he should learn a lot from this.”
The fixture’s traditional showcase, the Class 1 Chinese New Year Cup Handicap (1400m), went to the Danny Shum-trained four-year-old Perfect Match (Not A Single Doubt), the middle leg of a treble for jockey Alexis Badel.
“He’s very honest over 1400 metres and he’s a smart horse, he can do whatever you want, he can sit, he can lead so I scratched from the Hong Kong Classic Mile. It was too strong a field and the 1600 (metres) might be a little too long for him at this stage,” Shum said.