HONG KONG INTERNATIONAL RACES 2019

The LONGINES Hong Kong International Races delivered fantastic sporting action at Sha Tin Racecourse today (Sunday, 8 December) with Japan carrying off three of the four Group 1 features against the home team’s one. Win Bright fought off Ireland’s game filly Magic Wand in a thrilling LONGINES Hong Kong Cup to cap the event, which began with Glory Vase storming away with the LONGINES Hong Kong Vase, and continued with emotional wins for the local champion Beat The Clock in the LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint and Admire Mars in the LONGINES Hong Kong Mile.

Mr. Winfried Engelbrecht-Bresges, the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s Chief Executive Officer said: “The outcome of today’s races shows that it was a fantastic international race meeting. Our Irish friends missed out on a little bit of luck in the Cup but really it was a day for our Japanese friends. They have supported us with a lot of horses coming for this meeting.

Turnover was a record for the meeting at HK$1.71 billion. The interesting part is that the local turnover, even though they had to close down some of our Off-Course Betting Branches, was above last year at HK$1.376 billion. The major growth seen today came from commingling turnover. This shows that their strategy of globalistion, of making Hong Kong racing – with their integrity, with all the excitement, with the deep liquidity in our pool – available to the world, is working. The commingling turnover was HK$334 million, which is up by nearly 30% from HK$258 million last year.

The afternoon’s event went ahead at a difficult time for Hong Kong, and, with a major protest planned and taking place on Hong Kong Island at the same time as the races, a crowd of 27,965 was well down on the usual figure. Mr. Engelbrecht-Bresges said: “We deliberately were not pushing our attendance. We wanted to be absolutely sure that everybody who came to the races would be able to go home safely because we knew there was a big demonstration on the island and we didn’t want to take a risk. We had a lot of in-depth planning for this meeting. For us to be able to stage this international event when all other major sporting events here have been cancelled, we have demonstrated that we manage what we do extremely professionally, with a real risk assessment.”

Moreira’s Glory in the LONGINES Hong Kong Vase

– David Morgan

GLORY VASE triumphs under Joao Moreir

Glory Vase streaked away with the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Vase (2400m) at Sha Tin. The Japanese raider with the most fitting of names carried Joao Moreira to his fifth LONGINES Hong Kong International Races win – soon to be six – and his first since he guided Satono Crown to a thrilling Vase score in 2016, also for Japan. “He ran amazing; the emotion is getting the better of me but that’s what it’s about, winning big races, and today we’ve got another one. To come back and win on a Japanese horse, it makes it all worth it,” said Moreira, who left Hong Kong for Japan for a short while before returning full-time to his adopted home city this time last year.

The 2018 Vase champion and big local hope Exultant strode on from his wide gate to lead the field at the first turn under Zac Purton as Moreira settled his mount into a smooth locomotion a couple of lengths off the pace. Three-wide off the home turn, Moreira switched to an inside alley as Exultant made for home. Glory Vase, G1-placed but not a winner in that grade before today, quickened to lead at the 200m mark and kept on going, drawing three and a half lengths clear at the line in a swift time of 2m 24.77s.   

“I was quite blessed to get in two off the fence, get cover and get him to relax,” the rider said. “I had horses on top of me at the 800 metres but good horses, if they face a tough situation, they just go through with it and he wasn’t any different. “He just kept himself in the gap and just before we turned for home I was kind of trapped and had to ride for luck. I sneaked on the inside and hoped the gap would come. Fortunately it did. When I got the gap he just dashed from the 350 (metres) and I knew I was the winner because I had plenty of horse underneath me and he was just attacking the line as a really good horse would.”

The Brazilian ace was ebullient in victory, beaming and waving to the appreciative crowd and his cohort of fans waving Japan flags and marker pens in the hope of a coveted autograph. Moreira obliged as many as he could. “It’s a pleasure. It’s always good to win these big races, it’s always going to help your confidence and I’ll be riding the rest of the races with even more confidence knowing that I’ve got good rides,” he said, before making it a four-timer by mid-card with a late-thrusting win aboard Beat The Clock in the second of the majors, the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint.

Meanwhile, Glory Vase’s trainer Tomohito Ozeki was delighted with his first Hong Kong win. “I’m overwhelmed,” he said as his Deep Impact four-year-old walked back to unsaddle and have the winner’s sash clipped around his neck. Moreira did an amazing job riding the horse. We had a meeting together yesterday and felt good about our chances. The plan was to come here, we’ve been targeting this race because we felt the track would suit him and the owner was happy to come. Winning international races like this, this is my job as a trainer, this is the best.”

Japan filled three of the first four places. Christophe Soumillon drove the filly Lucky Lilac to second, with the popular mare Deirdre, under Oisin Murphy, fourth. Exultant in third prevented a Japanese whitewash.

GLORY VASE – Moreira celebrates a brilliant win.

Glory Vase is the third Japanese horse to win the Vase following Stay Gold (2001) and Satono Crown (2016).

Moreira had a LONGINES HKIR double previously in 2014 when Able Friend won the Mile and Designs On Rome took the Cup.

Beat The Clock’s emotional Hong Kong Sprint win

– Steve Moran

BEAT THE CLOCK wins the Sprint under Joao Moreira.

Trainer John Size and jockey Joao Moreira spoke of vindication and feeling humbled in an unusually emotion-charged response to their win with Hong Kong’s most consistent sprinter Beat The Clock in the LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint (1200m).

Moreira declared he would cherish the win “all my life” while Size wiped away a tear or two after the ever-reliable Beat The Clock beat stablemate Hot King Prawn with sprinting’s would-be-king Aethero, the 1.5 favourite, the same margin back in third. “There’s no way I could be any happier. What a pleasure to be on top of two very nice horses, particularly this guy. He is such a good horse, so consistent, he tries his best always and being his rider is just unforgettable,” said Moreira, who’d earlier won the afternoon’s first Group 1 on Glory Vase, said as he returned to scale on the 6.5 winner who’s won nine races and not missed the first three in 23 starts.

He was even more effusive at the later post-race press conference. “When the gates opened he wasn’t fast enough. He didn’t settle where we wanted him to be which was a pair closer but once we were turning for home I could feel I had plenty in my hands and I realised he was coming to win the race with one furlong (200m) to go. “This will be in the back of my mind all my life. I’ve been associated with this horse for quite some time. Some people were doubting how good he was and rating him second to other horses in the race. He went there to prove today he’s the best sprinter in Hong Kong. And the best part of it is I don’t think that’s it, I think there’s more to come from him,” Moreira said.

Size made repeated reference to the horse’s character when asked about his remarkable consistency. He said: “It’s just his character I guess, his will to win and fighting spirit; all the good things that good horses have, he has all those attributes. He helps himself a lot with his training. He saves his energy for raceday. I think he’ll sleep for a week now. He used every ounce of energy in his body in today’s effort and it’s humbling to see a horse do that actually. He’s a joy when he comes to the races, I can assure you of that. You’re going to come home with a cheque no matter what; he’s been been an absolute pleasure. He was extremely brave in the run today. He didn’t look like he was going to win but we know with him he’s just not done until the finishing line comes up,” he said.

Beat The Clock gave notice of what was to come when he won on debut at Sha Tin in November 2016 and the six-year-old son of Hinchinbrook now boasts three Group 1 wins. “This was one of his best performances today, if not his best,” Size said, “and he will feel it. They’re only flesh and blood no matter how good their character. “It’s very humbling to watch a horse like that. It’s an amazing feeling. It’s actually not much to do with me in the last 50 or 100 yards. We just keep them out of harm’s way and get them to the races to do their best so it’s an unusual feeling and hard to describe; someone who’s more of an orator than me might be able to tell you. The win was the trainer’s third HKIR success. “And eight seconds, I haven’t forgotten those,” he said.

BEAT THE CLOCK – Moreira and Size celebrate an emotional victory

Trainer John Moore did not despair at the defeat of Aethero. “He’s a three-year-old, only got beaten a neck, so I’m very pleased with the run. He didn’t win but was gallant in defeat. Zac (Purton) said that when he went for him at the 200 (metres), he was expecting something there – that they could kick away a bit but it wasn’t there. He changed legs and that was the difference. He’s definitely still an exciting horse.”

Plenty to Admire for Soumillon in poignant Hong Kong Mile

– Tom Peacock

ADMIRE MARS – wins the Mile in the silks of late owner Riichi Kondo.

Admire Mars and an inspired Christophe Soumillon came to the fore in what was an emotional occasion for the Japanese racing industry in the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Mile (1600m). It was not, perhaps, the result that the home town audience yearned for, with the hat-trick seeking Beauty Generation looking as if he would defy his advancing years when cruising into the lead at the 400-metre mark. Unfortunately for the massed supporters of John Moore’s hugely popular performer, the tank began to empty almost as soon as Zac Purton began to ask Beauty Generation for one final ounce of effort, while a surging pair of rivals were making alarming progress.

ADMIRE MARS – Yasuo Tomomichi is moved by the win.

Admire Mars, under sustained pressure from his Belgian-born pilot down the home straight, poked his chestnut head in front with only 100 metres remaining and passed the line half a length clear of the advancing Waikuku and Joao Moreira. The winner carries the recognisable blue and white silks of Riichi Kondo, one of Japan’s most significant owners, who died only a few weeks ago. His widow attended the presentation ceremony, although the horse was still registered under her late husband’s name, and trainer Yasuo Tomomichi, who was wearing the livery of the owner in his suit and tie, was also holding back the tears.

Soumillon said: “He was probably one of the biggest private owners in the Japanese racing industry, he was somebody very famous who loved horses. We could see his colours from a long time ago, they won nearly everywhere. We had the bad news a few weeks ago so I’m really proud and happy to take these colours so high today.” It is actually 11 years since Soumillon’s last victory at this meeting, which also came in the Mile aboard Good Ba Ba. This European winter, however, he has moved his talents to Japan. It was the first time he had partnered Admire Mars, a two-time G1 scorer and winner of five from eight career starts who had seemingly been aimed towards Sha Tin for some time.

“I knew my horse was very strong, although his last run wasn’t that good,” he said. “He was the best two-year-old last year in Japan, probably the best three-year-old in Japan too. I knew he could stay that distance quite well, he has good gate speed, he liked the ground, so I was quite happy. I told the lad before the race when I saw the odds on the screen ‘there’s something wrong there because for me he should be in the first four favourites’. I rode my race as if he was the favourite and it paid off.”

With the field carried along steadily for the most part by Ka Ying Star and then Beauty Generation, Soumillon always had something to aim at from his position in midfield. “The first time I saw Beauty Generation running this year, and last time also, I saw he didn’t have the magic he had last year, so that gave me a chance to think that he was beatable,” he revealed. “For a few strides I thought Zac would go and then at the 300 metres mark I thought ‘I will grab him’. I felt Joao coming on the outside and he’s flying so much at the moment, I thought it would be hard to push my horse into the line but he did it really well.”

Tomomichi has shown adventure in campaigning horses overseas already, taking the likes of the 2017 Dubai Turf with Vivlos and running Cheval Grand at York and Ascot a few months ago. “I did think this was going to be a difficult race for a three-year-old to win, but when I saw how he had settled here earlier this week, I thought that he looked really well,” he said. “Christophe Soumillon had asked to ride the horse, and he gave him a very good ride. We were all going to wear the same suit and tie together, so it still feels as if Mr Kondo is with us watching the race. He was a big supporter for me for a long time, he had many good horses, and he was a very good person.”

Trainer John Moore had maintained that Beauty Generation, the two-time Hong Kong Horse of the Year, was starting to show a little more sparkle in exercise despite defeats when conceding weight in lead-up races in the Sha Tin Trophy and Jockey Club Mile. “He was gallant in defeat,” said Moore. “In his last two runs he hasn’t been hitting the line as we’d expect. That’s what Zac said and he confirmed that. He’s just not going through the gears when he gets into the straight and he did it again today. The Stewards’ Cup will be his next Group 1 race and we’ll take it race by race from there.”

There were no hard feelings from Moreira, who had another afternoon to cherish at the circuit. Having beaten Beauty Generation in the Jockey Club Mile, Waikuku confirmed places here from the widest gate 10. “It was an extremely good run, he had to face a tough gate and I had to drag him back,” said the rider. He wasn’t having much luck from there but he’s a good second to a good horse. We didn’t have too much luck from the gate and I think that is what has got him beaten. That’s the reason why I pulled him back otherwise I was going to get tracked wide.”

ADMIRE MARS – Soumillon celebrates the win.

At a ‘Turf World Championships’ that belonged to Japan, the last word should go to Soumillon. “You can see that wherever the Japanese go, in America, England, France, or even Australia, when they buy mares, they buy the best ones, and when they bring stallions over, they bring the best ones,” he explained. “They are training horses on tough tracks, they are feeding them really well, trying many kinds of things and it pays off. They won the Melbourne Cup, Hong Kong, Dubai, nearly everywhere. It’s a great achievement and I’m proud to be part of it.”

Win Bright completes spring autumn double to complete joyous treble for Japan

– Scott Burton

Magic Wand just fails to peg back WIN BRIGHT

Win Bright produced a performance hallmarked with toughness to go with his considerable class to complete the Group 1 double of the LONGINES Hong Kong Cup (2000m) and April’s FWD QEII Cup (2000m) for trainer Yoshihiro Hatakeyama and jockey Masami Matsuoka. In doing so the steel-grey son of Stay Gold held off the late lunge of Ireland’s Magic Wand to assure the 2019 LONGINES Hong Kong International Races meeting will be remembered as a standout day for Japan’s horsemen, as Win Bright followed Glory Vase and Admire Mars into the Sha Tin winners’ enclosure.

To no great surprise Time Warp got to the first bend a step ahead of his brother Glorious Forever, with Magic Wand and Win Bright making up the second rank of two. Karis Teetan committed Time Warp at the top of the straight but Matsuoka had angled three wide off the bend and wound Win Bright up for what proved to be an irresistible charge down the straight. Rise High proved to be the best of those to come from off the pace and looked a threat inside the 200m pole but it was Magic Wand that threw down the final challenge after Ryan Moore had been forced to weave in and around horses, only finding clear sailing late on.

It was a fine ride from Matsuoka, who has been shown great loyalty by owners Win Co Ltd at a time when the fashion has been to go after visiting superstars. Win Bright was the only horse among nine sent from Japan across the four G1 races to be partnered by a home-born jockey. “It went the way we were expecting,” Matsuoka said. I thought the pace would be slow so I wanted to sit third or fourth. I was very happy it all went to plan. We perhaps made our move maybe a bit early as we were carrying plenty of speed into the straight.”

For Hatakeyama, this was a triumphant return to Hong Kong and a brilliant piece of target training, coming as it did off the back of a less-than-inspiring performance when eighth to the all-conquering Almond Eye in the Tenno Sho Autumn. “After his summer break he couldn’t get into top condition,” Hatakeyama said. “His last two runs were below what I expected but he began to improve straight after the Tenno Sho Autumn and we always wanted to come here if we got the invite. He was in really good shape by the time he left Japan and that is why we were able to follow the same routine here as when we came in April. Tactically the race went exactly to plan. We wanted to sit handy. At the first bend he tried to tuck in and perhaps put a little pressure to the others. He came home really well in the straight.”

Matsuoka was quick to pay tribute to the trainer’s efforts in getting Win Bright to peak for the day that mattered. “This is great because his last two starts have not been satisfactory. The horse has been improving all week since he got here. We had a memorable day in April and it is special to come back,” the rider said.

Masami Matsuoka passes the post on WIN BRIGHT

Hatakeyama started out in the mid-1980s as a JRA work-rider and Win Bright’s two triumphs in Hong Kong are the fulfilment of lifelong ambitions sparked by a spell riding out for Irish master trainer John Oxx, a man he described as “a great teacher.” “When I started training I used to dream all the time about sending my horses to the big overseas Group 1 races and I have been waiting for days like this ever since I got my training licence 20 years ago.”

WIN BRIGHT – Matsuoka salutes the win.

For the Ballydoyle team there will be a sense that this might have been one that got away, as Magic Wand’s 12th start of 2019 was a luckless one. Smartly away and never far off the pace, Moore came off the rail in search of a run but was forced to wait a fraction before easing past Furore and onto the heels of Win Bright. The Caspar Fownes-trained Rise High ran a big race under Vincent Ho and proved the best of the home defence, finishing a short-head and half a length behind two genuine international Group 1 performers.

It was a performance which suggested big days ahead but, with Hatakeyama planning a third trip to Sha Tin for Win Bright next April, pretenders to the throne know exactly what will be required.