Able Friend will step out at Sha Tin on Sunday, 15 March, in the first international Group 1 edition of the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup (1400m) and trainer John Moore sees no reason why Hong Kong’s highest-rated horse should not take home the lion’s share of the HK$10 million purse.
“He’s a super star and the indications are that he is still the horse everybody has to beat,” said Moore. “We’re going into the race thinking that if he can reproduce his last run he will win; he’s had no setbacks, everything has gone well; as far as I’m concerned, I think he’ll win again.”
The Shamardal five-year-old slammed international rivals when victorious in December’s G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Mile and repeated that dominance in January’s G1 Stewards’ Cup (1600m). The strapping red chestnut ran home mid-pack under a hold in a 1000m turf trial last week and has since pleased connections with a 1200m spin under big-race pilot Joao Moreira, in which he clocked 1m 19.5s (28.6, 27.3, 23.6).
“He was in need of the barrier trial last Tuesday,” said Moore. “He had a good blow, but we gave him a searching gallop on Saturday just to give him another good blow, and that work told us that he had improved from his trial immeasurably. We are really happy with the way he’s going into the race. He will have his final gallop on Thursday down the back.”
Able Friend is a course and distance winner but that 1400m victory came back in November, 2013, since when he has raced mainly at a mile, stretching out to 2000m when a fine second in last year’s BMW Hong Kong Derby. But the Australian-bred has plenty of toe, as he showed on his first start this term when a length fourth to subsequent G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint winner Aerovelocity over 1200m.
“Dropping down a furlong is not a worry at all,” said Moore. “This horse could have competed in the 1200m race the other day that Gold-Fun won. He is very versatile in the sense that from 1200m to 2000m he is a competitor. This is what champions are like. He was fat as anything when he ran first-up at 1200m - if he had been fit he would have won.”
Gold-Fun won last year’s Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup when it was staged as a local Group 1 event. Last month, Richard Gibson’s charge produced a late surge to win the HKG1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize on his first start at 1200m, having previously been no match for Able Friend at a mile.
Also among the 11 engaged is former two-time Horse of the Year Ambitious Dragon, who delivered a devastating burst of speed to win this race in 2013. The Tony Millard-trained eight-year-old was fifth in the recent Stewards’ Cup. The trainer has also entered Divine Calling, runner-up in the HKG1 Hong Kong Classic Mile in January.
The field includes a top-class overseas raider, too. Ireland’s Gordon Lord Byron has three G1 wins under his belt - in France, Britain and Australia - and has finished fourth three times in G1 contests at Sha Tin from four visits, most recently in December when behind Aerovelocity over 1200m. Tom Hogan’s charge had an easy canter this morning.
Also engaged is the Moore-trained G1 winner Dan Excel, runner-up in this contest 12 months ago. Moore has also engaged Stewards’ Cup third Rewarding Hero and the smart Secret Sham.
The Tony Cruz-trained Beauty Flame was second in the Stewards’ Cup and blazed through a 1000m turf trial last week in 57.04s. The John Size-trained Real Specialist held off Divine Calling to win the Class 1 Chinese New Year Cup (1400m) last month, while the Gibson-trained Dundonnell was seventh in the Chairman’s Sprint Prize but is a two-time course and distance winner.
The G1 Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup is the third and final leg of the Hong Kong Speed Series, which also consists of the HKG1 Kent & Curwen Centenary Sprint Cup (1000m) and the HKG1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize.
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Photo 1:
Irish raider and Queen��s Silver Jubilee Cup contender Gordon Lord Byron has an easy canter during Sha Tin trackwork this morning.
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