We seriously think trainer John Moore goes to nap to leaves for Phuket and only returns whenever there are some important Cup races to win. His winning percentage in taking out is extraordinary as he has so many high class horses in his stale, thanks to some of the most cash-strip owners in Hong Kong. If there is some good quality horse for sale, the odds are that someone from Moore’s army will purchase it and aim it for the races with the biggest prize money.
Racing at Shatin on Sunday are the key lead-up races to the upcoming International Races and where, in 2010, the trainer won all three Cup races. In each of Sunday’s lead-up races, Moore has entered an extraordinary five horses in each race! When you’ve got it, flaunt it baby!
Moore, who has won the Jockey Club Cup four times in the past six years, has his hopes pinned on Packing Whiz, below, which, with semi-permanent stable jockey Brett Prebble aboard, really should be too good for this lot and with other another Moore runner in Dominant with Neil Callan up running into a place.
Of the three feature races on the day, the Jockey Club Sprint includes a runner from Singapore in the Michael Freedman trained Super Easy, below, which has won 12 wins and 1 second from 13 starts. The nagging question mark will be that this will be the first time the horse will run “the other way”compared to his starts back home and with Freedman, who many keep telling us is hoping to train in Hong Kong, uses Olivier Doleuze to do the steering.
Super Easy takes on Hong Kong’s Group One winners Little Bridge and Lucky Nine and we really cannot see the horse from Singapore upsetting these local favourites.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong’s Horse of the Year Ambitious Dragon tackles the Jockey Club Mile and only has Glorious Days, blinkered for the first time, to beat.
What concerns us is just how much effort these horses entered for International Day will be asked to display to win if bottled up or held out wide etc? After all, lead-up races are fine, but the real targets are in December.
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