Hong Kong held home turf as Dashing Fellow (124lb) made all the running and earned his first win in pattern company, taking the HKG3 Hong Kong Macau Trophy (Handicap) this afternoon, Sunday, 6 March, at Sha Tin Racecourse.
“I thought the Macau horses would go out too fast for me,” said winning jockey Zac Purton, “but my bloke broke very well and they seemed a little bit sluggish. My bloke’s general pattern is to lead, so I wasn’t scared to let him roll forward.”
Dashing Fellow looked clear in the final stages before Macau representative The Alfonso (120lb) stormed down the centre of the course, just missing a major upset. The final margin was a diminishing neck.
“He was taking baby steps in the last fifty metres,” added Purton, who won the race for the first time in his career, and tallied a four-timer on the afternoon. “He was going to win comfortably and all of the sudden, he hit a brick wall. But he just held on and that’s all that matters.”
“We thought it would be a slick sort of speed, but they didn’t go crazy and my horse got what he wanted,” said winning trainer John Moore, who earned his fourth win in the race’s 13-year history. “We know off that speed he can kick in the straight, and he did. My horse is very genuine.”
Rated 99 before Sunday’s race, Moore was philosophical about the rest of the season for Dashing Fellow.
“We don’t really have anything planned just now. He’s made his way into the 100 area so we hope he can maybe pick up another Group 3 handicap and go from there. There is probably another win him for the season.”
The Alfonso, a winner of the Macau Derby last season, earned the best finish in the race for Macau trainees since Viva Pronto landed the spoils in 2010. Super Lifeline (124lb), the 2014 Hong Kong Macau Trophy winner, stayed-on for third while Travel Renyi (117lb) loomed in the stretch but flattened-out for fourth. The final time for the 1400m was 1:21.65s.
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Photo 1:
Photo 1, 2, 3: Hong Kong runner Dashing Fellow (No. 6), trained by John Moore and ridden by Zac Purton, wins the HKG3 Hong Kong Macau Trophy at Sha Tin Racecourse today. The first runner-up is The Alfonso (No. 9).
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Photo 2
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Photo 3
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Photo 4:
Connections of Dashing Fellow celebrate their victory after the race.
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Photo 5:
Photo 5, 6, 7, 8: Philip Chen, Steward of The Hong Kong Jockey Club, presents the Hong Kong Macau Trophy and silver dishes to Dashing Fellow��s owners Dr Philip Ho Kin Hoi, Dr Ernest Yau Hok Shing and Dr Joseph Pang Yeuk She, winning trainer John Moore and jockey Zac Purton.
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Photo 6
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Photo 7
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Photo 8
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Photo 9:
Stewards of the HKJC; Angela Leong, Vice Chairman and Executive Director of the Macau Jockey Club (front row, 5th from right); top executives of the HKJC and MJC; and the connections of Hong Kong Macau Trophy winner Dashing Fellow, pose for a group photo at the trophy presentation ceremony.
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Photo 10:
Before the race, Heidi Lester, Chief Stipendiary Steward of the Macau Jockey Club, presents a prize of HK$2,000 to the Stable Assistant responsible for Apollo��s Choice, the Best Turned Out Horse in the Hong Kong Macau Trophy.
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