Douglas Whyte celebrates taking the Jockey Club Mile on Glorious Days
PICTURE: HKJC, BY JEREMY GREENE6:00PM 18 NOV 2012
Report: Hong Kong, Sunday
Sha Tin: The Jockey Club Mile (Gr.2) 8f, turf, 3yo+
GLORIOUS DAYS (John Size/Douglas Whyte) threw down the gauntlet to Ambitious Dragon and any of the big overseas names he may face in the Longines Hong Kong Mile after a decisive victory in the Jockey Club Mile.
Fitted with blinkers for the first time, the heavily backed15-8 second favourite Glorious Days eased into serious contention at the top of the straight when the 4-5 chance Ambitious Dragon travelled ominously well on his outside.
The market picks duelled thereafter, but Glorious Daysestablished a break by the furlong pole and extended for a comfortable length-and-a-half margin at the line.
Evening the score to one-all after the second clash this season of what could be a sequence of tussles between two of Hong Kong’s highest rated thoroughbreds, Glorious Days was in receipt of 5lbs from the dual Horse of the Year.
The pair seem quite evenly matched if they meet again in the Mile in three weeks at level weights, but the current momentum is with Glorious Days.
Trainer Tony Millard is on record as saying he will target either the Mile or the Cup – “whichever seems the more winnable” – next for Ambitious Dragon.
John Size has fewer equivocations regarding the next assignment for the best horse in his yard and perhaps Glorious Days will be the one to finally give the seven-time champion trainer a first success at Hong Kong’s flagship fixture.
“He has always promised to do that, it was just a matter of whether he delivered,” the trainer said.
“We were thinking about blinkers as soon as he got into Group company and when he started to look as though he was intimidated a couple of times in defeat.
“I don’t think you could ask more of his effort today. It was a pretty big run going into a big race, which is always a discomfort, but he’s got three weeks to get over it. Hopefully he might repeat,” Size added.
“I think if he just repeated that run, then that would be enough [on December 9]. To ask him to step up after a run such as that would be asking too much.”
Commenting on the addition of the headgear, winning jockey Douglas Whyte added: “I always thought, in the last four runs, that he would need blinkers and that they would really switch him on, but you never know until you get to race day.
“You always get nervous when you’re on the fence with Ambitious Dragon on your outside, but my guy let down really well and we beat him fair and square.”
Pure Champion finished third having positioned prominently in an evenly run race.
On his first start for the season, the dual Champions Mile winner Xtension was a little one-paced in fifth, beaten three-and-a-half lengths.
JOCKEY CLUB MILE (GROUP 2) (3YO+) (TURF)
- (3yo+) 1m Good
- £142,144.64, £54,862.84, £28,678.30, £14,962.59, £8,728.18
| HORSE/SP | AGE | WGT | TRAINER/JOCKEY | OR | TS | RPR | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| « |
11 |
Glorious Days (AUS) 37/20 | 5 | 8-11 b1 | J Size | — | * | * | ||
| Douglas Whyte | ||||||||||
| « |
23 |
1½ | Ambitious Dragon (NZ) 4/5F | 6 | 9-2 b | A T Millard | — | * | * | |
| Zac Purton | ||||||||||
| « |
35 |
½ | Pure Champion (IRE) 20/1 | 5 | 8-11 t | A S Cruz | — | * | * | |
| Matthew Chadwick | ||||||||||
| « |
46 |
nk | Dan Excel (IRE) 63/1 | 4 | 8-11 h | J Moore | — | * | * | |
| W C Marwing | ||||||||||
| « |
57 |
1¼ | Xtension (IRE) 11/1 | 5 | 9-2 | J Moore | — | * | * | |
| Brett Prebble | ||||||||||
| « |
62 |
nse | Packing Ok (AUS) 24/1 | 6 | 8-11 h | J Moore | — | * | * | |
| O Doleuze | ||||||||||
| « |
710 |
nse | Fair Trade (AUS) 154/1 | 7 | 8-11 | C Fownes | — | * | * | |
| Tye Angland | ||||||||||
| « |
84 |
nk | Sweet Orange (USA) 21/1 | 4 | 8-11 t | D E Ferraris | — | * | * | |
| Gerald Mosse | ||||||||||
| « |
98 |
½ | Military Attack (IRE) 18/1 | 4 | 8-11 h | J Moore | — | * | * | |
| Timothy Clark | ||||||||||
| « |
109 |
4 | Destined For Glory (IRE) 47/1 | 5 | 8-11 ht | J Moore | — | * | * | |
| Neil Callan | ||||||||||
1st OWNER: Tom Brown’s Syndicate BRED: Mr R Pietrykowski TRAINER: J Size
2nd OWNER: Johnson Lam Pui Hung & Anderson Lam Him Yue
3rd OWNER: Mr & Mrs Eddie Wong Ming Chak & Kameny Wong Kam Ma
TOTE PARI-MUTUEL (all including HK10 stake): WIN 28.50; PLACE 11.00, 10.50, 35.50; DF 28.50
Report: Hong Kong, Sunday
Sha Tin: Longines Jockey Club Cup (Group 2) 1m2f, turf, 3yo+
CALIFORNIA MEMORY (Tony Cruz/Matt Chadwick) enhanced his prospects of back-to-back victories in Hong Kong’s richest race next month thanks to a telling late dash in the Longines Jockey Club Club on Sunday.
The principal local trial for the Longines Hong Kong Cup was run a good deal quicker than most might have anticipated.
The tempo suited the only international Group 1 winner in the field, California Memory, who gave 5lbs to those around him in the tight finish having been waited with at the tail of the field before the swing for home.Just half a length separated the first four past the post with a short-head between the brilliant little grey from a trio of John Moore-trained runners headed by Irian.
Zaidan, third home, and 9-4 favourite Packing Whiz, fourth, held every chance as they briefly disputed the lead around the furlong marker.
“They went a bit hard up front which suited us but we were just running our own race and he finished the race off well enough to win,” said the victorious jockey Chadwick.
“He’s definitely improved for his last run and hopefully he’ll pull up sound. We’ll be looking for the big one in December. He’s a small horse, but he’s got the biggest heart.”
California Memory has had a history of intermittent soundness problems, but trainer Cruz indicated that the worrying pattern has subsided in recent times.
“When he pulled up after his last run he was sound – he wasn’t sore even,” he said.
Tony Cruz: confident of big runPICTURE: HKJC
“I was confident he was coming here with a great chance today. So long as he pulls up sound again tomorrow we’re in for a serious race again on the big day.”
The form out of this particular trial is historically very strong as a pointer to the Longines Hong Kong Cup, for which the likely fields will be announced in midweek by the HKJC.
California Memory ran fourth in this contest a year ago despite striking significant traffic in the straight and later atoned in December when it mattered more.
Irian, winner here in 2010, was touched off by Snow Fairy in that year’s Cup. In 2011, the German import also ran second in this race and filled an identical role in the main event, so perhaps that augurs well for his chances again in three weeks.
Runner-up in the SIA Cup in Singapore in May over the same distance, Zaidan performed very creditably and seems a reasonable each-way candidate again next time on this latest showing.
Packing Whiz, however, appeared to peak on his run trying 1m2f for the first time and, looking ahead to the big meeting, it would not surprise if he were dropped back in distance to the Mile.
Stable companion Dominant, with Neil Callan flown in for the ride, was scratched earlier in the day owing to lameness, as had been predicted in some quarters of the local media on Sunday morning.
LONGINES JOCKEY CLUB CUP (GROUP 2) (3YO+) (TURF)
- (3yo+) 1m2f Good
- £142,144.64, £54,862.84, £28,678.30, £14,962.59, £8,728.18
| HORSE/SP | AGE | WGT | TRAINER/JOCKEY | OR | TS | RPR | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| « |
112 |
California Memory (USA) 16/5 | 6 | 9-2 | A S Cruz | — | * | * | ||
| Matthew Chadwick | ||||||||||
| « |
22 |
shd | Irian (GER) 41/5 | 6 | 8-11 h | J Moore | — | * | * | |
| Gerald Mosse | ||||||||||
| « |
35 |
shd | Zaidan (USA) 87/10 | 4 | 8-11 | J Moore | — | * | * | |
| O Doleuze | ||||||||||
| « |
411 |
nk | Packing Whiz (IRE) 23/10F | 4 | 8-11 h | J Moore | — | * | * | |
| Brett Prebble | ||||||||||
| « |
510 |
1¼ | Autumn Gold (GER) 16/1 | 3 | 8-8 | S Woods | — | * | * | |
| Douglas Whyte | ||||||||||
| « |
68 |
½ | Helene Spirit (IRE) 20/1 | 5 | 8-11 t | C Fownes | — | * | * | |
| Timothy Clark | ||||||||||
| « |
73 |
nk | Scarlet Camellia (NZ) 16/5 | 5 | 8-11 t | C S Shum | — | * | * | |
| Zac Purton | ||||||||||
| « |
84 |
½ | Same World 31/1 | 4 | 8-11 h | J Moore | — | * | * | |
| K C Leung | ||||||||||
| « |
96 |
3½ | Liberator (AUS) 65/1 | 5 | 9-2 t | D E Ferraris | — | * | * | |
| W C Marwing | ||||||||||
| « |
109 |
1 | Fay Fay (NZ) 15/1 | 5 | 8-11 | J Size | — | * | * | |
| Tye Angland | ||||||||||
| « |
111 |
1 | Mighty High (FR) 160/1 | 6 | 8-11 h | L Ho | — | * | * | |
| A Suborics | ||||||||||
| « |
127 |
2¼ | Mr Medici (IRE) 169/1 | 7 | 8-11 | L Ho | — | * | * | |
| Y T Cheng | ||||||||||
NON RUNNER: Dominant (IRE)
1st OWNER: Howard Liang Yum Shing BRED: Fred Seitz TRAINER: A S Cruz
2nd OWNER: Siu Pak Kwan
3rd OWNER: Cheng Keung Fai
TOTE PARI-MUTUEL (all including HK10 stake): WIN 42.00; PLACE 15.50, 25.50, 28.50; DF 155.50
Yutaka Take: ended Grade 1 drought with victory on Sadamu Patek
Report: Japan, Sunday
Kyoto: The Mile Championship (Grade 1) 1m, turf, 3yo+
SADAMU PATEK, (Masato Nishizono/Yutaka Take) who stuck towards the inside when back in the pack chasing the leader Silport, made significant ground down the straight to claim his first Grade 1.
Favourite Grand Prix Boss also came from off the pace to finish behind the winner by a neck. Half a length back in third was Donau Blue, a full sister to the triple-crown filly Gentildonna.
Jockey Yutaka Take landed his 66th JRA Grade 1, his first in two years since winning the 2010 Japan Cup with Rose Kingdom. This marked his first Mile Championship title in his 21st attempt in the race.
Take said: “I am very happy to win a Grade 1 after two years. His [Sadamu Patek] condition was good and his post position was inside so I decided to ride the race like this.
“In these two years, I had some bitter experiences, but I have known many fans were waiting for me every time, so I thought that I had to deliver the results to repay them.”
The winner Sadam Patek and the runner-up Grand Prix Boss w ill go to Hong Kong to challenge for the Hong Kong Mile (G1).
MILE CHAMPIONSHIP (GRADE 1) (3YO+) (TURF)
- (3yo+) 1m Good
- £866,193.89, £342,833.31, £213,131.99, £125,146.00, £83,430
1st OWNER: Sadamu Onishi BRED: Shadai Corporation Inc TRAINER: Masato Nishizono
2nd OWNER: Grand Prix Co. Ltd
3rd OWNER: Sunday Racing Co Ltd
TOTE PARI-MUTUEL (all including 100 ypj stake): WIN 1050; SHOW 370, 180, 330; DF 2520; SF 5560
