Longines Hong Kong Cup (Group 1)

ROMANTIC Warrior left a high-class field trailing in his wake with an impressive performance in the HK$34 million Group 1 Longines Hong Kong Cup over 10 furlongs.

The success left his rider James McDonald saying of the Irish-bred son of Acclamation: “He’s got everything a good horse needs and he’s got it in spades.”

McDonald had been asked to ride Danny Shum’s gelding as Karis Teetan had not recovered in time to resume the relationship that won last month’s Group 2 BOCHK Jockey Club Cup.

“I didn’t think he’d win like that but the quality of this horse is amazing. His turn of foot is incredible. This is the race here in Hong Kong I want to win.

“This horse has a lot of great attributes but his greatest is that he’s so adaptable at taking a position,” the rider said. “I promise you, that was really as good as it looked. He was perfect from start to finish today.”

Panthalassa edged across to take the lead running into the first bend and took the field through solid early fractions.

Challenge

Romantic Warrior loomed up to challenge with just over 300m to run, McDonald asked his mount to deliver the killer blow and Romantic Warrior didn’t hesitate, powering four and a half lengths clear.

Danon The Kid stayed on to fare best of the Japanese in second with Money Catcher third.

Michael Kinane has been active at the sales finding horses for the Hong Kong Jockey Club and had bought the Acclamation gelding from Corduff Stud for 300,000gns during Book 2 of the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale in 2019.

Trainer Shum’s previous career highlight came when his crack sprinter Little Bridge won Ascot’s King’s Stand Stakes in 2012 but he is now looking forward to an assault on the Hong Kong history books that could involve a clash with California Spangle and Golden Sixty.

“His owner Peter Lau said ‘Danny, if we win this race we should target the Hong Kong Triple Crown over 1600m, 2000m and 2400m’,” he said.

That feat involves winning three more Group 1 prizes: the mile Stewards’ Cup, 10 furlong Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup and Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup (mile and a half). It has only been done once, by River Verdon back in 1994.

However, Romantic Warrior has already done what very few horses in Hong Kong history have ever done, winning nine of his 10 races since making a winning debut in October, 2021.“It has been an amazing effort by my team and I think this must be the most memorable day of my career,” Shum added.

Longines Hong Kong Mile (Group 1)

IT was a case of third time lucky for California Spangle at Sha Tin as he sensationally denied Golden Sixty’s record-equalling Group 1 Longines Hong Kong Mile hat-trick bid in front a crowd of 42,624 at Sha Tin on Sunday.

Beaten by Golden Sixty in the 2022 Group 1 FWD Champions Mile and last month’s Group 2 BOCHK Private Wealth Jockey Club Mile, California Spangle reversed the result with his first-top level crown for trainer Tony Cruz and jockey Zac Purton.

“I’m very proud of the horse. I expected him to win (Hong Kong) International Races one day. Zac rode the perfect race today,” Cruz said.

Away cleanly under Purton, the four-year-old son of Starspangledbanner who was bred by Michael Enright, fired forward before denying a brave Golden Sixty by a neck, while former Irish-trained Laws Of Indices took third for Australian Annabel Neasham.

Fantastic

“We planned the tactics and how to ride the race and somehow it turned out to be so fantastic.

“California Spangle is a rising horse and with Golden Sixty, age has come to catch up with him. I think this is where we got the advantage,” Tony Cruz said.

“It was pretty straightforward early. Tony pre-race asked me if I could just let the horse roll along a little bit more than we did last time. He’s a lot more relaxed this season.

“When Beauty Joy came around him he was happy to let him go. Then when he got clear of him he wanted to wait a little bit which was a worrying time for me when I could feel Golden Sixty breathing down my neck again. Today I thought he had me at the 200 (metre mark) and then at the 100 (metre mark) I thought, ‘he hasn’t quite got me yet.’ We kept trying and we were lucky to get the result today,” Purton said.

Cruz is confident of bigger and better things from his talented charge: “Young horses like California Spangle can improve his character in time. It’s easy to train a horse to get fit but it’s how you train a horse in his mind. That is the hardest bit of it.

California Spangle enhanced his earnings to HK$48,878,300 after collecting HK$17,100,000 for first place.

“He’s shown right throughout his career he’s a horse that deserves to be in the top echelon,” Purton said. “It took Golden Sixty to beat him last time and I think Golden Sixty is the best I’ve seen since I’ve been here and there’s no disgrace in that. He’s a phenomenal horse and he’s versatile.”

Defeat for Golden Sixty was just the champion’s fourth in his career of 22 wins, including six at Group 1 level. “My horse ran very well and I’m happy for him. The other one had good pace and saved all the ground,” Vincent Ho said.

Longines Hong Kong Vase (Group 1)

DAMIAN Lane and Japanese runner Win Marilyn passed the entire field to record an impressive debut Group 1 success in the Longines Hong Kong Vase and give Japan another big win at the meeting.

Having broken best of all, Win Marilyn drifted back through the field. As French-trained challenger Botanik and William Buick made a bid for victory, Lane angled Win Marilyn to the outside and the five-year-old daughter of Screen Hero hit her stride.

Botanik stayed on well to be a length and a half back in second while race hat-trick-seeking Glory Vase bowed out with third-placed effort.

Second to Daring Tact in the 2020 Group 1 Yushun Himba (Japanese Oaks), Win Marilyn came here off the back of fine performance when denied by Geraldina in the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup.

“She showed a good turn of foot at the end of her race which really suits the 2,400 metres here in Hong Kong,” said Lane. “I thought the horse that beat her that day was something special so I was confident if she could hold that form today.”

Lane has enjoyed considerable success in Japan over the last four years, to record five Grade 1 victories.

Honoured

“This is my first trip to Hong Kong and I am very honoured to be with one of the horses representing Japan,” said trainer Takahisa

Botanik had shown his potential when getting the better of Stay Foolish in the Group 2 Grand Prix de Deauville in August before disappointing on deep ground in the Prix Dollar.

Deputising for Mickael Barzalona, William Buick,deputising for Mikael Barzelona was impressed with the Golden Horn gelding, who looks set to be an international flagbearer going forward for Godolphin.

“He’s run a blinder, he’s a lovely horse,” said Buick. “To be honest, if you ignore his run on Arc day, he looked like he had a real chance.

“Mr Fabre doesn’t send many horses here and when he does send them you know they have a chance.”

Buick added: “He’s Mickael’s ride and unfortunately Mickael has Covid so I’m only a step-in. But he’s going to be a real nice stayer for next year.”

There was to be no third success in this race for 2019 and 2021 winner Glory Vase but he still put up a brave performance to be third.

German runner Mendocino reared as the stalls opened and refused to race for Rene Piechulek.

Longines Hong Kong Sprint (Group 1)

WELLINGTON now looks set to make an impact on the wider racing world after the home-trained champion delivered a performance of real authority in the HK$24 million Group 1 Longines Hong Kong Sprint over six furlongs.

Richard Gibson’s six-year-old has had an almost faultless 12 months since his seventh-place in this in 2021. Now a four-time Group 1 winner, he has swept the board in divisional honours, retaining his Group 1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize and returning from a break with an admirable weight-carrying performance in the Group 2 Premier Bowl Handicap .

With regular rider Alexis Badel out injured, Ryan Moore was a more than able replacement.

Moore was winning his eighth race at the HK$110 million Hong Kong International Races, admitted the race went perfectly to plan as he settled in the middle of the pack.

Full flight

By the furlong pole, Christophe Lemaire had set for home on Sight Success but Wellington was after him in full flight and his run had him three-quarters of a length in front at the line. Sight Success held on for second, ahead of Sky Field and Courier Wonder in a finish dominated by Hong Kong runners.

“He’s a very good horse. It more or less went to plan. I was able to get a bit of cover in midfield and the pace was steady. I got there a bit too early to be honest but he’s an intelligent horse and a pleasure to ride.”

“You can’t call yourself a sprint champion unless you win this big one,” trainer Richard Gibson said. “We’re all part of a really big team, Alexis is a huge part of that and I’m gutted for him to miss it.

“We had a lot of work to do after his disappointing run last time (finished lame). We had to be a bit patient but I was pleased we hadn’t missed work with him.”

The win opens the door to travel with Wellington, possibly to Royal Ascot next June.

“We really wanted to win it for Hong Kong and for the owners, who have been so supportive to me and were my first owners in Hong Kong,” Gibson said

“There is a programme for him during the coming months, but if that goes well, we will look at Ascot.”

Reporting: Scott Burton, Graham Cunningham, Declan Schuster, Tom Peacock