Highland Reel’s courageous on-pace Hong Kong Vase victory provides weekend highlight
Ridden forward as is Highland Reel’s usual style, Ryan Moore settled the well-travelled entire in second place before applying pressure to the leader Helene Charisma (Air Chief Marshal) 1600 metres from home.
Taking a clear lead at the 800 metres, Highland Reel was then a target for his highly credentialed rivals as the field turned into Sha Tin’s 430 metre home straight.
Fighting back tenaciously under Moore’s urgings, Highland Reel then demonstrated his stamina and quality by drawing clear again over the closing stages to score by a length and three-quarters from Breeders’ Cup Turf (Gr 1, 12f) winner Talismanic (Medaglia d’Oro) with the Japanese-trained Tosen Basil (Harbinger) just under a length further back in third.
Time for the race was a fast 2:26.23 (12.18 200m rate), the second fastest Hong Kong Vase this century, which was a fraction outside the 2:26.22 recorded by Satono Crown (Marju) in last year’s race when he defeated Highland Reel by a just under a half-length after another strong on-pace effort.
Highland Reel is indeed a highly talented and rare stayer that can set and maintain a strong tempo throughout a full 2400 metre journey.
Sunday was the five-year-old stallion’s final race start and he will now join his sire Galileo (Sadlers Wells) on the Coolmore roster with the admirable career record of ten wins (seven at Group / Grade One) with nine placings from 27 starts and prize money earnings of $13,951,220.
There may be some elite thoroughbreds that carry a higher rating than Highland Reel’s lofty 128 Timeform figure but it is doubtful if any have travelled the globe so successfully that has seen him race in seven different countries: Ireland, Great Britain, France, Hong Kong, Dubai, Australia and USA.
Other noteworthy performances on the watch at Sha Tin featured the Hong Kong Sprint (Gr 1, 1200m) and the Hong Kong Cup (Gr 1, 2000m).
The John Size-trained Mr Stunning (Exceed And Excel) returned a fast 1:08.40 in winning the Hong Kong Sprint, also producing fast closing sectional times in the process.
After racing close to the pace, Mr Stunning fought back gamely to win by a neck from his unlucky stablemate D B Pin (Darci Brahma) who ran on well despite a wide trip.
Mr Stunning was timed to run his final 800 metres in a fast 44.71 with his final 400 metres in 22.82 while D B Pin returned the fastest closing times of the race with his final 800 metres in 44.43 and his last 400 metres in 22.78.
And while strong tempos were a feature of the Hong Kong Vase and Sprint that certainly was not the case in the Hong Kong Cup (Gr 1, 2000m) where the lack of a genuine mid-race pace proved costly for the runner-up and favourite Werther (Tavistock).
The eventual winner was the Tony Cruz-trained Time Warp (Archipenko) who was taken straight to the front by Zac Purton and they combined to set a mediocre tempo that resulted in the first 1200 metres being clocked in 1:15.76 (12.62 200m rate).
With the race turning into a sprint home from the 800 metres point (that section clocking 45.87 with the final 400 metres in 22.08) which paved the way to a clear two and a quarter lengths victory for Time Warp.
The three-time Group One winning Werther then made good ground, after being back in seventh place, to take a good second in the sprint home without threatening the winner.
Werther was timed to run his final 800 metres in 45.44, the fastest for that section in the race, with his last 400 metres in a quick 22.09.
Feature racing in Australia saw the running of the last Group One race of the year in Perth, the Kingston Town Classic (Gr 1, 1800m) where victory went to the former New South Wales-trained gelding Pounamu (Authorized).
And while Pounamu, who now holds a 115 Timeform rating, is at the other end of the spectrum in comparison to Highland Reel whose 128 peak is some 13 pounds superior, the Alan Matthews-trained grey still staged a solid performance in winning.
Ridden well back in the field, Pounamu appreciated a solid pace that saw the first 1200 metres run in 1:13.82 before coming with a strong late bid to score by a half-length in an all-West Australian finish with the first four past the post being locally trained.
A first-up winner of the Asian Beau Stakes (Gr 3, 1400m) when resuming at Ascot on 4 November, Pounamu was having his second run since that victory with the Kingston Town Classic becoming his first Group One victory in 37 starts.
Time for the 1800 metre journey was a solid 1:49.50 (12.16 200m rate), equivalent to 2000 metres in 2:01.66 and Pounamu clocked 34.76 for his last 600 metres, in coming from 11th at that point, which was the fastest for that section in the race.
Pounamu failed to win in 13 starts in New South Wales, finally breaking through for his new stable in Perth in January 2016, so it is probably doubtful if he would be competitive in his former home state but he certainly can continue to be effective in the top grades in West Australia.
However, the progressive Darren McAuliffe-trained three-year-old War Room (War Chant) may well possess the potential to be up to eastern states class.
War Room is now unbeaten in three starts following recent wins at Northam and Bunbury and he stepped up quickly in grade in taking out the Sir Ernest Lee-Steere Stakes (Listed, 1400m) in promising fashion on Saturday.
He was smartly away and then steadied the pace (first 800m 50.19) was briefly headed on straightening but War Room came again, fighting back very gamely in the sprint home (34.55 last 600m) to win narrowly but quite impressively from the Godolphin-raced colt Gaulois (Street Cry).