LONGINES HONG KONG

VASE (GROUP 1)

HIGHLAND Reel closed out his illustrious career with the victory everyone hoped for when he won the Hong Kong Vase in typically tenacious fashion at Sha Tin last Sunday.

It was Highland Reel’s second victory in the HK$18 million Vase, a win that epitomised his remarkable career as a racehorse and a seventh Group 1 success. He was also a narrow second behind Satono Crown 12 months ago.

It was another excellent ride by Ryan Moore, maximising the battling qualities of his mount. Helene Charisma set off at a brisk pace with Highland Reel well settled a few lengths back in second and Moore gradually moved closer through the race.

Taking it up of the bend, he briefly looked like he might be swamped by the pack led by his Breeders’ Cup conquerer Talismanic, who travelled well into the race.

Though the Godolphin runner got to within a neck of Highland Reel, the Irish colt found more and in the end, held his challenger comfortably by a length and a quarter in a time of 2m 26.23s. Tosen Basil cane down the outside under Joao Moreira for third place.

Ryan Moore was full of praise for the Galileo entire. “He’s the sort of horse, once he gets into a fight, if he’s there in the fight long enough he’s probably going to prevail. He just dug in for the last furlong and then at the line I thought he was going away and comfortable at the finish.”

“It’s been a massive effort from everyone to keep bringing him back for the last three years. He’s been all around the world and it’s a fitting way for him to finish. He’s been a brilliant racehorse,” Moore said.

Highland Reel will now head off to a second career at Coolmore Stud with a record of 10 wins from 27 starts in six different countries over four years from his first win in a Gowran maiden in July 2014.

IRREPLACEABLE

“He’s a very special horse – he’s irreplaceable, really,” Aidan O’Brien said. “It’s very rare that you get a horse that can travel like him. He’s been doing it since he was a two-year-old - he won the Champagne (Stakes) at Goodwood as a two-year-old and he’s travelled the world in the meantime, so an incredible horse. He’s irreplaceable for us at home but we were lucky to hold onto him as a five-year-old, we were lucky to get another year out of him,” O’Brien said.

Maxime Guyon had no excuses after taking second on the Andre Fabre-trained Talismanic.

“He ran well,” the jockey said. “I had the perfect trip behind the winner and I tried to wait as long as possible because my horse only has a short burst of acceleration and that really worked for him in the Breeders’ Cup. But I have no excuses, he ran great.

Chemical Charge and Oisin Murphy ran on to take fourth place. Max Dynamite and Glyn Schofield made their challenge up the inside rail and finished a creditable sixth.

“He ran really well. I was in a lovely spot but the pace was probably a bit sedate for him,” the jockey reported.

HIGHLAND REEL’S Group 1 wins

10 December 2017 Sha Tin Hong Kong Vase

21 June 2017 Ascot Prince of Wales’s Stakes

02 June 2017 Epsom Investec Coronation Cup

05 November 2016 Santa Anita Breeders’ Cup Turf

23 July 2016 Ascot King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes

13 December 2015 Sha Tin Hong Kong Vase

15 August 2015 Arlington Secretariat Stakes