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Sun Jewellery needed the length of the Sha Tin stretch to collar a stubborn Dashing Fellow for a short head win in Sunday’s HKG3 Premier Cup, the final pattern race of the current Hong Kong season.
Sunday’s success was the fourth win from six starts this season for the gelded son of Snitzel, and the first in open pattern company following scores in the HKG1 Hong Kong Classic Mile and HKG1 Hong Kong Classic Cup, where he managed narrow wins over eventual BMW Hong Kong Derby and Audemars Piguet Queen Elizabeth II Cup hero Werther.
“We don’t expect him to win by a margin, because he never does, but he did what he had to do today as usual,” said winning trainer John Size. “The second horse is very hard to beat under those circumstances, he’s beaten us before in a similar type of race, and I thought ours did what he had to do.”
“I always thought he had the ability,” said winning jockey Joao Moreira of the heavily-backed 1.6 favourite, “but I made a mistake getting off of him in the first place. I should have stuck with him in the first two legs of the 4-Year-Old Series, but I’m lucky to get back on him and once again, he delivered to me a great prize.”
Dashing Fellow led almost every step of the contest under an enterprising ride by Chad Schofield. The Premier Cup quinella met in the Class 1 Panasonic Cup (Handicap) in November, where Dashing Fellow made all and defeated Sun Jewellery by less than a length. Following the scratching of likely pace attendant Beauty Flame, Schofield dictated terms through soft early sectionals and nearly saw out the trip.
“We had a very easy time up front, and with his light weight he sprinted hard,” said Schofield. “I thought the way he quickened we would be hard to beat, but that winner is very good. Even though we had another picnic out front, he still ran us down.”
“The pace suited the leader, but to get past him, he really had to sprint and work hard and sustain the run,” added Size. “He’s aimed at a race like the Hong Kong Mile in December, so we’ll ask him to do a little bit more in the new season and see if he shapes up for it.”
Rewarding Hero (128lb) finished 2 ½ lengths behind Sun Jewellery in third, just edging Dundonnell (123lb) who was fourth. The final time was 1m 21.61s.
The win was a first in the race for Moreira while Size landed his second Premier Cup following a victory from Sichuan Success in the 2011 edition. Moreira had four wins on the day, the last representing his 400th riding win in Hong Kong. Trainer John Moore also earned a landmark success with his 1,500th career training win in Hong Kong when Mr Bogart won the tenth race.
Five meetings remain in the 2015/2016 Hong Kong racing season, with the season finale scheduled for 10 July at Sha Tin.
