Purton creates history as Exultant takes QE II Cup
Zac Purton was elated and deflated at the end of Exultant’s (Teofilo) glorious, grinding victory in the HK$25 million FWD Queen Elizabeth II Cup (Gr 1, 2000m) at Sha Tin yesterday.
The brave bay’s willingness to stretch for his rider through every demanding stride of the 2000-metre feature meant the champion jockey became the only rider in history to have won every Group 1 race on the Hong Kong calendar.
“The feeling going over the line – it was a combination of everything!” Purton said. “I’ve come close to winning this race so many times, it’s been very frustrating and after missing the bob in the previous race, to win this was a sense of relief.”
Purton’s day had not lived up to his hopes until the Tony Cruz-trained Exultant produced a typically rugged yet classy run to ensure the jockey finally got his hands on the one big trophy that had hitherto eluded him. Disappointment was raw less than two hours prior when he eased the defeated young gun sprinter Aethero (Sebring) across the line after the chestnut bled in the Chairman’s Sprint Prize (Gr 1, 1200m), and then Beauty Generation’s (Road To Rock) head dipped down an exasperating second in the Champions Mile (Gr 1, 1600m).
The Australian was not about to let the last of the three FWD Champions Day features slip away though. Last time out in the Hong Kong Gold Cup (Gr 1, 2000m), stablemate Time Warp (Archipenko), under Joao Moreira, stole a march and held Exultant’s late rattle; this time, wise to Moreira’s steadying of the pace up front, Purton made a long run from the 1200-metre point to press the Brazilian’s mount.
“I didn’t want a repeat of last time, that didn’t go well for us. I had planned to be outside in the run but my guy showed no speed early so I just had to wait until we got around that first corner and then allow him to move into the race,” Purton said.
The tactic worked. By the time the two horses turned off the home turn, both were already under strong driving; Time Warp soon cried enough and Exultant, ever the warrior, battled into the clear – but with 200 metres remaining, Purton was not certain that success would be his.
“I was flat, I was empty – I wasn’t that confident,” he said. “My fella, at the 300-metre mark, was just starting to struggle a little bit. Down to the 200 (metres) I knew there was a horse coming and I could sense my bloke was at his bottom, he didn’t have anything else, so I was certainly worried, but my guy, he just kept galloping along and did enough.
“It means a lot to now be the only jockey to have won every Group 1 race in Hong Kong. It’s not an easy thing to do and it’s an achievement I’m very proud of – a Group 1 race is hard to win, as I’ve found, but that’s why they’re Group 1, they’re not easy and they should never be easy. The competition is tough so to go home and have finally won this race today, I’m still going to go home a little bit flat but I’ll go home very thankful that this trophy is now on the mantelpiece.”
Exultant held on by three-quarters of a length from Furore (Pierro), who closed off grittily under Karis Teetan to give Cruz a stable one-two. The winning time was bang on two minutes.
“Exultant’s a tough customer and I don’t think he’s at his best at the moment, I think he’s doing it on heart. He showed once again just how tough he is and it was a great performance, he just ran them into the ground and that’s what he’s best at,” Purton added.
Cruz was pleased with Furore’s run, though disappointed that Time Warp faded out of the first three as old hand Eagle Way (More Than Ready) ran on for third under Neil Callan.
“I expected Exultant to win but if he didn’t perform, Furore was always going to run a good race too and I’m very happy with his run,” the handler said.
“Exultant will go the same route as last year. He’ll go to the Champions & Chater Cup next month, that’s the only race left. Furore will go there too.”
Teetan could not add a second Group 1 on the day, having taken the Chairman’s Sprint Prize on Mr Stunning (Exceed And Excel), but was delighted with Furore’s effort in chasing the winner right to the line.
“He ran so well,” the Mauritian said. “I had a perfect position and was just tracking them through. Exultant took on Time Warp earlier than expected so I didn’t pressure my horse too hard. I got onto Exultant’s back to track him into the race and he just kicked three lengths clear as we turned into the straight.
“My horse kept giving but Exultant is too good. He’d taken on Time Warp a long way out so I thought he’d have to come back but he didn’t, he just kept grinding in front. But all credit to Furore, he tried hard.”
First Group 1 win for Southern Legend, Ho
Southern Legend (Not A Single Doubt) was supposed to be preparing for a third straight win in the Kranji Mile (Gr 3, 1600m) in Singapore, but Plan B worked out far better for the admirable stalwart at Sha Tin yesterday.
With the Lion City target off the radar due to the global pandemic, the Caspar Fownes-trained galloper instead snatched the biggest win of his career in the HK$20 million FWD Champions Mile.
And what a time it was to snare his first Group 1. In a head-bobbing victory, the seven-year-old scuppered the great Beauty Generation’s attempt to not only become the race’s only three-time winner but also the first Hong Kong-trained horse to win 19 races.
“We had the opportunity to set Southern Legend and go for the Singapore race, to try and go for three wins in a row there, but when this virus hit we had to change plans pretty quickly,” trainer Caspar Fownes said.
“He’s beaten the best on their day, there’s no doubt about that – when horses were flying, he beat Pakistan Star, Nothingilikemore and now the best horse Hong Kong’s ever seen, Beauty Generation.”
The 9/1 shot held off the 1.6 favourite to give jockey Vincent Ho a first win in the elite grade, his breakthrough to the top table coming off the back of his Classic Series-dominating partnership with Golden Sixty (Medaglia D’Oro).
“This is all about Vincent, he deserves that more than anyone,” Fownes said of his former apprentice. “With hard work, if you keep plugging away, things will come your way. To get it on my horse, that’s extra special.
“He’s been a great kid and he deserves all the success he can get and I think hopefully next season, if the local trainers and all of us can get behind him, we can certainly put him up there to fight it out with Zac and Joao.
Ho took the race to Purton and Beauty Generation with 300 metres to race as the rising star of the jockeys’ room drove his mount from off the pace to take a narrow lead over the superstar pairing; but while Beauty Generation is not the force of 12 months ago, he still has a champion’s will.
The big horse rallied; Southern Legend dug in; the old stagers flashed past the post together and the outsider had it by a short-head in a time of 1:33.13.
“It’s amazing,” a beaming Ho said. “There are no spectators here but it’s a Group 1! I’ve been working really hard for it and hopefully there are plenty more to come.
“The boss had prepared him for Singapore so I always felt he’d pick up really well. Last run, he ran really well, so I thought I could get close to Beauty Generation,” he continued.
“I didn’t jump that sharply, maybe because the visor was off, but I got a good spot and the pace was actually quite slow. Southern Legend had won at 1800 (metres) and he’d gone 2000 metres as well, so when they went that slowly I decided to take off at the 600 (metres) and he got a really good kick and sustained it to the end.”
Southern Legend had performed below-par through the middle of this season, suggesting perhaps that time was catching up with him, but ran a sound race earlier this month when third to Beauty Generation in the Chairman’s Trophy (Gr 2, 1600m).
“It’s like anything, as horses get older you’ve got to freshen them up a little bit, get their mind back on their job,” Fownes said. “I think his last run really showed us that he was up to giving a big effort this start.”
The bay took his career record to 12 wins from 40 starts and improved upon his only previous Champions Mile run, when third to Beauty Generation in 2018. Fownes is looking forward to more good days with the Australian-bred.
“I haven’t told him he’s turning eight in August yet so we’ll keep that a bit of a secret!” the trainer joked. “I’ll just try to keep him happy and healthy and I always believe if horses are producing and have the ability to earn money for their owners, we keep going. When they’ve had enough, that’s when we retire them.”
Purton was disappointed with the outcome but appreciative of Beauty Generation’s brave effort.
“He ran well, he tried his hardest,” he said.
Trainer John Moore, too, was deflated at the result but proud nonetheless.
“We were gallant in defeat, look at the bobs, the bob is just against him – if he’d got the head down we’d have won. It could have gone the other way, it just wasn’t our day,” he said.
“He’s beaten the rest by two and three quarter lengths and they’ve run a pretty good time so it’s a pity he can’t go out on that but you’ve got to live with it.”
Plans have yet to be made for Beauty Generation’s future, with Moore set to retire from Hong Kong racing at the end of the season and relocate his operation to Rosehill in Sydney.
“I’d like to take him back for a mile race in Australia and then have him stay there at the Living Legends Farm. That’s what I’d like to do but what the Kwok family wants to do is what counts, I don’t know whether they’ll keep racing him or retire him.”
Mr Stunning lifts for a Chairman’s Sprint Prize shock
Mr Stunning (lived up to his name and cemented his place as one of Hong Kong’s finest sprinters with a 20/1 victory in the HK$18 million Chairman’s Sprint Prize.
The Frankie Lor-trained gelding put age and injury woes behind him to become only the third seven-year-old to succeed in the race’s 41-year history.
Mr Stunning was withdrawn from this race last year due to a hairline fracture in his shoulder but today capped a successful return with the third Group 1 success of his career and first win since the 2018 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint (Gr 1, 1200m), also with Karis Teetan in the plate.
The Australian-bred joined 2011 winner Dim Sum (Kyllachy) and 2014’s Lucky Nine (Dubawi) as seven-year-old winners of the Chairman’s Sprint Prize, while Joy And Fun (Cullen) landed the 2012 edition as an eight-year-old.
“He’s a seven-year-old now but this season, for me, he’s always been very close, unfortunately last season he had that shoulder problem but now everything’s good,” Lor said.
The race unfolded perfectly. A gap appeared at the 250-metre mark and the Exceed And Excel gelding burst through to score in a time of 1m 08.40s ahead of Big Time Baby (Dandy Man) and Thanks Forever (Dupforth), who rounded out the top three.
Lor’s masterful training, nursing the horse through a patient and measured process, paid handsomely in the form of a first-prize cheque of HK$10.2 million.
“Because of the hairline fracture he had, I can’t push him too hard, especially as he is an older horse, that’s why this time I didn’t trial him before this race – we just freshened him up,” Lor said.
Slated to retire after this run, that decision may be put on hold.
“We planned this to be his last run but let me talk to the owner and we will decide and see what he thinks about the horse – he was my first Group 1 winner, I’m very happy for him,” Lor said.
The handler tallied 130 Hong Kong wins in his first two seasons, and this, his third season, has brought 33 wins so far but at a slower rate.
“My stable this season has been so-so, the ratings go up and then the new horses cannot catch up so they need more time,” Lor said.
Karis Teetan was full of praise for Mr Stunning, who took his career earnings to HK$60,843,100.
“I just had so much horse underneath me – I was tracking a few horses who are decent enough to take me into the race and I was just waiting for a gap to open. This horse, his heart is bigger than him, so I knew he would let down as soon as he got that run,” Teetan said.
“I planned to make sure he got a good jump, he’s getting older this horse so he can miss the jump. I spoke to Frankie (Lor) and said we need to give him a warm up first and make sure he gets the break again,” he continued.
“Once he came out smartly, I just had to work him a little bit to get him into a handy position, I found myself three-deep and once I got in behind a few horses he dropped anchor and started travelling nicely.”
The in-form rider’s second Hong Kong Group 1 win capped a treble, having scored aboard True Legend (Deep Field) for Lor and Lakeshore Eagle (Master Of Design) for trainer Chris So.
Big Time Baby looked set to deliver trainer Manfred Man his first Group 1 success and first major since Eagle Regiment (El Moxie) landed the second of his Centenary Sprint Cups in 2012, until Mr Stunning’s late dart.
“It was a nice, consistent run, he’s just come back from Dubai a little too fresh and he’s going to improve out of this run,” jockey Matthew Chadwick said.
“The winner was just able to get out, I was hoping he’d get stuck in traffic because I thought I had the others covered. He was a bit nervous in the gates so he wasn’t as sharp out as usual – maybe the trip over to Dubai and back was something to do with that.”
The John Moore-trained Thanks Forever notched his third Group 1 placing this season with a strong run from deep.
“He had to make up ground, he was in front at the 100 (metres) and he just folded,” Moore said.
“I think if he’d drawn a gate and laid up a little closer he could have won. He had to make it up from the 400 (metres).”
The Moore-trained race-favourite Aethero, who broke cleanly to lead, faded to last and was found to have bled.
“It’s disappointing but we’ll make sure he’s alright and then I’ll sit down with the owner and we’ll have to discuss the best thing for him,” Moore said.