Joao Moreira’s secures two Group 1s as Beat The Clock wins Hong Kong Sprint
Beat The Clock won his third Group 1 with victory in the Hong Kong Sprint under Joao Moreira, who had landed the Hong Kong Vase less than an hour before with Glory Vase.
The win was Moreira’s fourth of the Hong Kong International Races meeting at Sha Tin after just five races.
Following the race, Moreira said: “I’m so happy. What a pleasure to be on top of two very nice horses in Glory Vase and this one, particularly Beat The Clock who I’ve had so much to do with. To be his rider is just unforgettable.”
Favourite Aethero made much of the running but was chased down by his rivals. Hot King Prawn finished a neck behind Beat The Clock in second, with Aethero a further short head back in third.
Ryan Moore was in the saddle of the seventh-placed DB Pin, with the Frankie Dettori-ridden Danon Smash eighth.
Win Bright lands the Hong Kong Cup to deny Magic Wand
Win Bright held off the rallying effort of Magic Wand to land the Hong Kong Cup by a short head under Masami Matsuoka.
The victory saw Win Bright complete the QEII-Hong Kong Cup double and meant Japan captured three of the four Group 1s on offer at Sha Tin’s Hong Kong International Races meeting.
It was the full brothers Time Warp and Glorious Forever – also the last two winners of the Hong Kong Cup – who made the early running but were pegged back by their rivals after turning for home.
Win Bright kicked on to take the lead with the mount of Ryan Moore hot on his tail, but the line came too soon and Magic Wand had to make do with second.
However, Magic Wand’s trainer Aidan O’Brien was delighted with the performance of his four-year-old.
He said: “What can I say? She’s just an unbelievable filly. She has run a stormer and it looks like she is getting better, doesn’t it? She just kept on giving all the way up the home straight and you cannot ask for any more than that.”
Rise High finished half a length behind Magic Wand in third.
Glory Vase cruises home under Moreira to win Hong Kong Vase ahead of Exultant
Glory Vase stormed home up the straight to win the Group 1 Hong Kong Vase ahead of Lucky Lilac by three and a half lengths, with last year’s winner Exultant a neck back in third.
Exultant made much of the running but was reeled in by the Tomohito Ozeki-trained Glory Vase, who landed his first top-level success.
Joao Moreira was in the saddle of the winning four-year-old, who had to negotiate a bit of traffic to secure his third victory of the day.
He said: “Good horses, when they face a tough situation, they just get through with it. That’s what they do. Just before I turned for home I found myself in a trap, which meant I had to ride him for luck and try sneak up the inside. I was hoping a gap would come and fortunately it did. When I got the split, he just dashed through.
“From the 350-metre pole, I knew I was the winner as I felt I had loads of horse under me. He was attacking the line like a really good horse. He’s got such a big engine, such a big heart. It was a pleasure to ride him.”
Moreira would follow that up with more Group 1 glory in the following Hong Kong Sprint, which he won with Beat The Clock.
Nassau Stakes winner Deirdre finished fourth, while Derby winner Anthony Van Dyck was hot on Exultant’s tail in the early stages before fading to finish 12th of 14.
The Willie Mullins-trained True Self did the best of the British and Irish runners, finishing seventh, with Young Rascal back in ninth.
Melbourne Cup runner-up Prince Of Arran could only manage 11th, while Roger Charlton’s Aspetar was 13th.
Admire Mars rockets home to win Hong Kong Mile with Beauty Generation third
Admire Mars produced an out of this world performance to land the Hong Kong Mile under Christophe Soumillon.
The three-year-old was in mid-division for much of the race but found another gear up the straight and held off the challenge of Waikuku and Joao Moreira to earn his third top-level success by half a length.
Soumillon said: “What a horse. I’ve been so lucky to ride in Japan and it’s paid off today.
“I know Admire Mars is quite tough so when I took him out I thought he’d go and catch up. He’s a hard fighter.
“I thought Joao might catch me on the line but he was very strong. It’s great to be a part of this race’s amazing history.”
Beauty Generation, a seven-time Group 1 winner at Sha Tin, made much of the running under Zac Purton and finished a length and a quarter behind Waikuku in third, with the Sir Michael Stoute-trained Zaaki eighth of ten.
https://www.racingpost.com/results/
fonte : RacingPost
