Hong Kong Cup

(Group 1)

IRELAND’s Free Eagle was a weak second favourite in the local pool for the day’s outright feature, the Hong Kong Cup.

The Moyglare Stud colt, making his final bow before heading off to take up stallion duties, was never able to land a blow behind the trail-blazing Japanese winner, A Shin Hikari.

The Irish four-year-old arrived in town with no mean reputation after his Group 1 win at Ascot in June and that infamous third to Golden Horn in the Irish Champion Stakes. But confidence on the ground waned as the week wore on.

A sedate canter around the turf circuit on Friday followed by a Saturday morning inside the quarantine stable area was seen, rightly or wrongly, as an indication that the bay was not in peak order.

Last year’s winner Designs On Rome went to post the market leader at 3.4 under Joao Moreira but the deep-closer, a running-on fourth at the finish, was up against it the moment A Shin Hikari burst from the gate, crossed ahead of the field and snared the rail.

Yutaka Take, now in the twilight of an illustrious career, proceeded to pour it on.

After an opening 400 metres in 26.17 seconds, Take allowed the dark grey colt to thunder along through unrelenting fractions of 23.47sec, 23.75sec, 23.59sec and 23.62sec, finally stopping the clock well inside standard at 2m 00.60s.

Neil Callan aboard third-placed Blazing Speed was stunned by the winner’s momentum: “If I’d had to lay up any closer I’d have been pushing him. Turning in I thought it was mine for the taking. I was waiting for the leader to stop but it actually went a length on again.”

Callan had settled his mount five lengths off the pace in fourth spot, one position behind Free Eagle, who travelled well enough under Pat Smullen until turning the final corner. The High Chaparral colt was empty in a matter of strides and faded to last.

“I think the travel to Hong Kong must have taken a lot out of him,” said Smullen. “He had a lovely position but once we straightened up he flattened out very quickly. He didn’t show the turn of foot we know he has.”

Up ahead, A Shin Hikari was ploughing on to the finish. Despite the best efforts of Ryan Moore on the late-closing filly Nuovo Record, Take took the spoils. “The horse was in great condition so my confidence was high going into the race,” Take said.

It was a first Group 1 win for the colt at the second attempt. Sunday’s win took his career record to nine wins from 11 starts and handed trainer Masanori Sakaguchi his second top-flight success, at age 67.

“He was more relaxed than usual today,” said Sakaguchi. “I felt that he was in the right frame of mind and