Joao Moreira is booting home winners at a strike rate of 26 percent right now and Hong Kong’s premiership trailblazer will be delighted if Designs On Rome and Sterling City can ensure he maintains that intensity in the two feature races at Sha Tin racecourse this Sunday (26 October).
The Brazilian gets the leg up on Designs On Rome (133lbs) in the HKG2 Oriental Watch Sha Tin Trophy (Handicap) over a mile, and is taking plenty of confidence from the Hong Kong Horse of the Year’s first-up effort three weeks ago. Moreira, who is having his first race-ride on last season’s G1 Audemars Piguet QEII Cup (2000m) and HKG1 BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m) victor, was impressed with that strong-closing run to finish a close third behind the re-opposing Gold-Fun in the HKG3 Celebration Cup over 1400m.
“The way he finished off in a race short of his best - that impressed everybody, including myself. He is in top form,” said the rider, who has partnered the John Moore-trained four-year-old in his last three pieces of fast work.
“He has come out of that race very well. His track work has been good enough to impress me as well. I hope he can bring his ‘A’ game to the race - even if the distance of this race is not the right distance for him yet, I still believe he can perform very well over the mile. He will run home very strongly and he will be pretty close.”
The stellar field of 14 includes two former holders of the Horse of the Year title, Ambitious Dragon (129lbs) and Military Attack (133lbs), as well as the reigning Champion Miler Gold-Fun (133lbs). Last year’s G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Vase victor Dominant (128lbs) also lines up, as does the dual G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup hero California Memory (126lbs).
That enthralling contest is number nine on the 11-race card and around half an hour earlier Moreira will team up with his old comrade Sterling City in the HKG2 Premier Bowl (Handicap) over 1200m. The Nadeem gelding provided the rider with his first Hong Kong pattern race success when taking this event 12 months ago, and in March the duo teamed up for a famous win in the G1 Dubai Golden Shaheen (1200m - Tapeta) at Meydan, Dubai.
Sterling City ran a fair sixth of nine in the HKG3 National Day Cup (1000m) first-up on 1 October and Moreira is satisfied that the six-year-old will have benefited from that start over a trip considered too sharp for him.
“He’s in good shape, he’s been working well and I think that race over the 1000m was almost like a barrier trial for him, so he’ll be going into this race still fresh. It’s a very even race - those low-weighted horses will be very competitive,” he said.
“I’ve ridden him in his last four gallops, including this morning (Friday) - we did some pretty nice, speedy work. I’m very happy with this horse; I have good faith him in him. At the end of last season he was getting tired and it’s good that John has given him a nice break between runs - he should be coming to his best again. He’s drawn in barrier three and I’m very happy about that.”
Sterling City carries 132lbs, a shade less than his top-weighted stablemate Able Friend, the mount of Nash Rawiller.
Moore has long regarded the strapping Able Friend as a champion miler in waiting, but the five-year-old faces a stiff task first-up under his burden against specialist sprinters. The chestnut has not tackled so short a trip since his Hong Kong debut, back in June, 2013, and returns to action off the back of a minor setback.
Fellow Moore-trained contenders Charles The Great (130lbs) and Frederick Engels (125lbs) will also be in the 11-strong field. The bigger threat could come from the rising stars in the race - Aerovelocity (122lbs) and Bundle Of Joy (121lbs) being chief among them.
Aerovelocity landed five on the bounce at the course and distance last term, including the HKG3 Sha Tin Vase (Handicap), and Paul O’Sullivan’s charge returns to action off a couple of impressive barrier trials, the most recent on 14 October. The David Hall-trained Bundle Of Joy, meanwhile, comes into the race two from two this term, having posted a career-high victory in the National Day Cup last start.
The Tony Millard-trained Super Jockey (113lbs) was third that day and will relish a return to 1200m, while stablemate Golden Harvest (119lbs) saw off the re-opposing Francis Lui-trained Smart Volatility (114lbs) to win a Class 1 at the course and distance on 14 September.
The Tony Cruz-trained Bullish Friend (118lbs) and the Dennis Yip-trained Go Baby Go (115lbs) were seventh and eighth, respectively, in the National Day Cup.
The two races each carry increased prize money of HK$3.875 million, up HK$375,000 on last year. The day’s action commences at 12.30pm with the Class 4 Zenith Excellent Handicap over 1000m.
