THE 2015 champion horse of the year, Maurice, returned to action last weekend in the Group 2 Sapporo Kinen. Hong Kong Champion jockey, Jaoa Moreira, was tasked with getting the son of Screen Hero back to winning ways after he was defeated by Logotype in the Group 1 Yasuda Kinen in June.

A four-time Group 1 winner at a mile, Maurice stepped up to a mile and a quarter for the first time in his career at Sapporo race track’s showpiece event. Held up in the rear of mid-division by Moriera, the five-year-old colt made laboured progress, rounding the final bend to hold fourth running onto the short home straight. On rain sodden ground, Maurice was unable to make significant in-roads and finished runner-up to his stablemate, Neorealism.