Fabre works his magic with Junko in Vase
Having saddled Flintshire (Dansili) to land the Hong Kong Vase (Gr 1, 2400m) back in 2014, his last success at the meeting, legendary French trainer Andre Fabre was again celebrating in the winner’s enclosure at the HKIR as Junko (Intello) produced a stellar performance to secure the 2400-metre Group 1 yesterday.
A homebred for Wertheimer and Frere, Junko had opened his account at the top level on his previous start, making all for a three-length win in the Grosser Allianz Preis von Bayern (Gr 1, 2400m) in Munich.
Ridden in yesterday’s Vase by Maxime Guyon, the gelded four-year-old, a son of Haras de Beaumont stallion Intello (Galileo), started slowly but made headway off a steady gallop entering the final two furlongs and, after taking up the lead inside the final furlong, kept on strongly for a ready length victory over Japanese raider Zeffiro (Deep Impact).
“I am very happy with the horse and I am happy to win for Mr Fabre,” Guyon said.
“I rode a good race, there were not too many runners so I didn’t want to be too far back and just after the final bend he had a good turn of foot.
“Everyone knows Andre Fabre and he’s done a great job, getting this horse to win a Group 1 in Hong Kong after his win in Germany.
“He’s a very relaxed horse and when he’s like that he has a really good turn of foot. This is a really important place so I’m really happy to come back and ride a winner.”
There was a further two and a quarter lengths back to Warm Heart (Galileo) in third. The daughter of three-time Australian Group 1 winner Sea Siren (Fastnet Rock) will now head for a date with Coolmore’s shuttle sensation Justify (Scat Daddy).
For Fabre, an incredible 30-time champion trainer in France, it was his second win at the HKIR and first for nine years.
I was confident before the race but I was just fearing a French-type race with no pace,” Fabre said. “Maxime didn’t panic and judged it well.
“I was a bit worried because I thought he was a bit far behind, but they quickened early so he could pick up and finish off the race. We might go to Dubai now.”
Junko (4 g ex Lady Zuzu by Dynaformer) is the best of three foals to come out of the Graded stakes-placed winning mare Lady Zuzu (Dynaformer), herself a half-sister to Grade 3 winner Optimizer (English Channel).