Sun Jewellery sparkles in gripping Classic Cup triumph

21/02/2016

Sun Jewellery emerged the narrow victor at the end of a rousing skirmish for the HKG1 Hong Kong Classic Cup (1800m) at Sha Tin Racecourse this afternoon, a win that puts him in line for a shot at history in next month’s HKG1 BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m).

No horse has ever won all three of Hong Kong’s four-year-old majors but with last month’s HKG1 Hong Kong Classic Mile already in the bag, only the Derby – and the matter of an extra furlong - stands between Sun Jewellery and a place in the record books. Floral Pegasus in 2007 is the only other horse to have pulled off the Classic Mile/Classic Cup double.

Doubts about the Snitzel gelding’s stamina meant that Sun Jewellery started at odds of 9.2 for January’s Classic Mile and remnants of those doubts persisted today to ensure the chestnut started the 3.4 second choice behind the John Moore-trained Werther (1.9), the horse he defeated by a neck in the aforementioned 1600m contest.

“Sun Jewellery’s a class horse and class usually tells over a distance,” said jockey Ryan Moore after the Snitzel gelding had taken the day’s feature by a head. “He’s probably just better than them, he’s just got a class edge and that allows horses to go further than you’d think they would.”

Green Dispatch under Matthew Chadwick set the tempo in the HK$10 million contest. Moore settled his mount into an easy rhythm in sixth after breaking from gate three. Werther sat at his quarters, Hugh Bowman pressing forward and wide on the turn for home, and, as the Australian’s mount lugged in upon straightening Sun Jewellery was shunted back into a pocket – the unlucky California Disegno was the meat in that sandwich.

Blizzard boxed for home at the fore under Gerald Mosse, the Size-trained Eastern Express running the race of his life upsides under Karis Teetan. Werther closed centre track but it was Sun Jewellery, switched inward, that showed resolution and class in equal measure to edge the win in a time of 1m 48.01s. Werther’s head bobbed down to nick second a short-head in front of the inseparable Blizzard and Eastern Express as Giovanni Canaletto stayed on for fifth a further three quarters of a length back. 

“He’s got an awful lot of courage,” said Moore, “and that as well as his attitude are the two things that stand out about him most. I did always feel that I was going to get up. Werther started moving early and I wanted to keep tabs on him – he got away from me a bit but my horse dug in very well.”

It was a fourth win in the race for Size (2009 Unique Jewellery, 2013 It Has To Be You, 2015 Thunder Fantasy) who has never hidden his regard for a horse that has now won six of seven starts in Hong Kong.

“He raced very well again, he settled very nicely, he went to sleep in the run and he picked up and sprinted when Ryan wanted him,” said the handler. “It looked like it was a very determined effort by him and he’s always going to do that, he’s competitive in each race that he goes into.”

The question of whether Sun Jewellery will stay 2000m in the Derby on 20 March is not one that is giving the analytical Size any concerns. 

“He’s got to go around a bend past the winning post and that makes it a little bit more awkward – you’ve got gates to deal with and things like that but at least he’s won the first two races; that’s a big help for him and now he gets a shot at the Derby. The distance doubt is always there, it’s something I don’t think about, we just roll onto the next race and hope he gets it.”

Size saddled another seemingly suspect stayer, Luger, to win the BMW Hong Kong Derby last year, and, like the 2015 victor, the trainer is of the view that Sun Jewellery has certain attributes that will be favourable when that next test rolls around.

“Like most good horses he does a lot of things right and his temperament helps him a lot,” said Hong Kong’s seven-time Champion Trainer. “He’s manageable in a race and he’s determined in a finish, so all those attributes you’d love to have in any horse.”