HUGH Bowman rode the John Moore-trained Werther to a dominant victory in Sunday’s Champions & Chater Cup over 12 furlongs at Sha Tin, the final Group 1 race of Hong Kong’s season.
Werther answered any doubts over staying the distance, kicking away from his main rival Blazing Speed, to win by three lengths.
The reigning Hong Kong Horse of the Year, racing without his usual blinkers, relaxed nicely and, as the pacemaker gave way, Bowman gave Werther the signal turning for home and he quickly challenged previous winner Blazing Speed.
Werther, a five-year-old, New Zealand-bred Tavistock gelding, pulled away for a three lengths win as Blazing Speed held second, three lengths ahead of Eagle Way.
“Although my gut feeling was that 2,400 (meters) was probably beyond his premium distance, I think he proved today that he’s got no drama with it, as long as he can relax within himself,” Bowman said. “And he was able to do it this afternoon with the blinkers off.”
The win was the second Group 1 of the season for Werther, after the Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup in February. He started late due to an injury.
Trainer John Moore said: “We’ll look at giving him an entry in the Hong Kong Cup and the Hong Kong Vase at the international meeting in December.
“We’ll see what the fields are like, the competition, and how the horse is, fitness-wise, leading into those races.”
The second Group 1 win also gives a chance for Werther to score a second Horse of the Year title but it is likely to go to Rapper Dragon, who suffered a fatal breakdown in the Group 1 Champions Mile after becoming the first horse to sweep the classic four-year-old series at Sha Tin.
The Group 3 Sha Tin Vase was won by Lucky Year, an Australian son of Holy Roman Empire.
The Hong Kong champion Able Friend was officially retired from racing and paraded in front of his fans after the third race on the card at Sha Tin in a farewell ceremony to honour his outstanding career.
The Shamardal gelding raced in the famous black and gold-trimmed silks of the late Dr. Cornel Li. He headed the Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings at one time and achieved the highest-rating in the history of Hong Kong horse racing.
He was the Longines WBRR world champion sprinter in 2015, Hong Kong’s Horse of the Year and champion miler, and a five-time Group 1 winner.
His only run outside the Far East came when he was a disappointing sixth of eight to Solow in the 2105 Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot.
“He was the equal of any horse on the planet at his peak,” said his trainer, John Moore.
“He’ll be known as a legend here. He’s earned his place in Hong Kong folklore as that strapping, big chesnut with the electrifying turn-of-foot. The public really took to him.”