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Moore��s sweet on Werther for Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup

21/02/2017

By David Morgan

Werther took on the champion’s mantle with a demolition job of a win in last season’s G1 Audemars Piguet QEII Cup (2000m) and on Sunday (26 February) the five-year-old, second-up after an injury lay-off, will aim to put his career back on to its lofty trajectory in the G1 Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup (2000m).   

The Tavistock gelding, the first of whose two course and distance successes came in the BMW Hong Kong Derby last March, missed the first part of this season after sustaining a right hind proximal suspensory injury back in August. He returned to action a month ago, posting a promising sixth of 12 in the G1 Stewards’ Cup at a mile.

“I was very pleased with his last run, it was what I expected given the stop-start prep he’s had,” trainer John Moore said this morning, Tuesday, 21 February. “There’s no doubt he has a bit of improvement to come but, looking at the field, I think he has enough about him.”

Hong Kong’s Horse of the Year will face only six opponents. Stablemate Designs On Rome is shooting for a hat-trick in this contest, while another veteran of the division, Blazing Speed, is also engaged. But with those two rivals both seemingly past their prime, the biggest threats to a Werther win could come from December’s LONGINES Hong Kong Cup second Secret Weapon and LONGINES Hong Kong Mile victor Beauty Only.

The latter is without a win at beyond 1800m, although a smart third at the course and distance in the 2015 G2 Jockey Club Cup suggests the trip is not beyond Tony Cruz’s charge, an affirmed fast ground lover. Moore is looking to the skies for that little advantage his talented bay might require to make up for any lack of race sharpness.

“Judging by what the weatherman has said there’s some rain on the way, so there could be a cut in the ground, and we know what he can do when there’s a cut in the ground - look what he did in the QEII. If that materialises, I think he’s the one to beat in the race!”

Werther spread-eagled a top class field in last April’s AP QEII Cup at Sha Tin. The New Zealand-bred relished the yielding going and sluiced to a four and a half-length victory ahead of the likes of Ireland’s Highland Reel and Japan’s Satono Crown, Lovely Day and Nuovo Record. 

The Johnson Chen-owned gelding proved a handful when he returned to training in early December, fighting for his head, hanging out at the gallop and even dropping his work rider. But Werther has been on good behaviour since the Stewards’ Cup. 

 

“The freshness was getting the better of him when he first came back into work but he’s not playing games at the moment,” Moore revealed. “We’re even happier going into Sunday - I think he’ll be very competitive in the race.”

And if all goes to plan at the weekend, Moore is considering a trip to Dubai for Chen’s star. The trainer has entered Werther for the G1 Dubai Turf (1800m) and the G1 Dubai Sheema Classic (2410m) at Meydan.

“I made entries for him to go to Dubai but he hasn’t been invited yet,” Moore said. “I’ll wait and see how he runs and then I’ll go to Johnson and ask if it’s a possibility. I’d like to run him in the 1800-metre race at Meydan, but we’ll see.

“We’ve taken the freshness out of him, so I think he’d be good to travel. He has travelled before, so it’s not a problem - he’s done New Zealand to Adelaide, across to Brisbane, and he came here and got straight into it.”

Werther (left) wins the G1 AP QEII Cup last April on rain-affected ground.
Photo 1:
Werther (left) wins the G1 AP QEII Cup last April on rain-affected ground.

 

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