Murphy delivers stellar ride to land Hong Kong Vase aboard Giavellotto
The Marco Botti-trained Giavellotto (Mastercraftsman) was faced with a host of challenges during Sunday’s Hong Kong Vase (Gr 1, 2400m), but was able to rise to the occasion and land the HK$24 million (approx. AU$4.82 million) under an inspired ride from Irish jockey Oisin Murphy.
Giavellotto has been something of a revelation this season, landing the Princess Of Wales’s Stakes (Gr 2, 1m 4f) at Newmarket to go alongside a second-consecutive victory in the Yorkshire Cup (Gr 2, 1m 6f), while his other start this campaign yielded a third placing in the Irish St. Leger (Gr 1, 1m 6f) behind star stayer Kyprios (Galileo).
Having had just two previous tries at Group 1 level, the five-year-old entire was relatively unexposed in this environment, and he showcased his undoubted talent on Sunday to rout his 12 rivals at the HKIR.
Racing towards the rear of the field in the early stages, Giavellotto seemed to be full of running rounding the home bend.
However, a lack of racing room forced the son of Mastercraftsman (Danehill Dancer) further back down the field while the leaders made their bids for glory.
Murphy, who has long been a well-established rider in his native Ireland and the UK, the latter being where he is based, pushed no panic buttons.
Having gradually weaved their way through the pack, the pair pounced for the lead inside the final furlong and stormed clear to beat dual Australian Group 1 winner Dubai Honour (Pride Of Dubai) by two and a half lengths, with a further length back to Japanese raider Stellenbosch (Epiphaneia) in third.
“He had a beautiful trip round until we turned in [for home],” the winning rider said.
“He relaxed great and was in a super rhythm and was very well behaved today. He got checked turning into the straight and often you don’t get going again, but how powerful was he late?
“Well done to team Marco Botti, it was a great plan coming here and they did an incredible job preparing him.
“It’s massive, he’s owned by the most wonderful people and Marco Botti has had a terrific couple of seasons with not a huge amount of horses.
“He places them incredibly well and I’m sure him and his team are going to get a huge thrill out of this.”
Reflecting on his own season, the 2023 champion jockey said: “It’s very special [to win]. I was dreaming about winning this morning and then I stopped myself because you don’t want to pre-empt and get into that frame of mind. You have to approach the race with instinct and fortunately it worked out.
“That’s my fourth Group 1 winner of the year and I had five last year. You always want more – how many have Ryan [Moore] and ‘JMac’ [James McDonald] had this year? – but I’ve no complaints and hopefully next year can be a good one as well.”
Botti, who was sending out the first British-trained winner at the HKIR since the Ed Dunlop-trained Red Cadeaux (Cadeaux Genereux) in 2012, was full of praise for the rider post-race: “Credit to Oisin because first thing after the Irish St. Leger, he mentioned this race and he was adamant that we should come here. We followed Oisin’s advice and it worked out well.
“Giavellotto was fresh coming into the race and it was only his sixth race of the year. We knew that, if he handled a drop back to a mile and a half on a sharper track than Newmarket – where he won in the summer- we had a chance.
“The owner was very brave to resist some very good offers and most of the time they get sold and we lose the horses. Then to find the next one is not easy.
“Credit to the owner, who has a lot of faith in this horse and it has paid off. It’s just a dream come true. He was in Saudi early in the season and ran a solid race, and then went to Dubai. He’s just got better and better and he loves travelling.”