Helene Paragon (119lb) rolled to the first win of his career at pattern level with a facile score in the HKG3 Premier Plate (Handicap) at Sha Tin this afternoon. On an incredibly warm afternoon in the New Territories, the final time of 1m 45.83s established a new record for the 1,800m distance.
“We call him El Toro,” explained trainer John Moore of the French-bred son of Polan who began his career with a maiden win at San Sebastian, Spain, when named Sir Andrew. “He is pretty used to the heat, but probably not the humidity out of Spain. We saw replays of him following his last run in France at Chantilly [July 2015] when he was a troubled third and that is when he really came on the radar for us.”
Helene Paragon settled last under Joao Moreira in the compact field of seven before unleashing a near effortless propulsion to the lead. Romantic Touch (122lb) set the early pace with average sectionals, tracked by Gun Pit (131lb) and Flame Hero (118lb), before quickening leaving the backstretch. Moreira angled the 4-year-old entire widest of all passing the 500m point and quickly gained on his rivals.
“He was very nice and relaxed for me at the back,” said Moreira, who resorted half-heartedly to his whip just once in the late stages. “As we turned for home, he had plenty to himself and just exploded, passed the other horses very quickly and ran away. He’s a horse with a bright future.”
The sectional times validated both Moreira’s words and the visual impressions Helene Paragon left the sun-soaked racing fans at Sha Tin. Helene Paragon clocked his final 400m in 21.71s and the final 800m in 44.21s. The all-class course record was recently lowered by Solar Hei Hei on 5 June when clocking 1m 45.88s, while the Group-race mark Helene Paragon established today had been held by Bullish Cash when winning this same race in 2008 (1m 46.30s).
“The track is helping today with the speed, it’s beautiful, well cut, dry and very fast,” added Moreira.
Flame Hero saved ground throughout and stayed-on for second, 1 ¼ lengths behind the winner, while Secret Weapon (128lb) closed well for third, a further half-length behind.
Sunday’s run was the seventh of the season for Helene Paragon, and his third at the pattern race level. The bay was a closing fifth in the HKG1 BMW Hong Kong Derby in March and encountered a host of issues in his last start when tenth in the HKG3 Lion Rock Trophy on 29 May.
“He over-raced last time, couldn’t get cover, was wide and the pace didn’t suit. He made quite a long run today and really got to the line strong.
“He’ll run on closing day,” Moore added, alluding to the Class 1 Sha Tin Mile Trophy (Handicap) on 10 July, “and he’s versatile enough over 1,600 or 2,000, so no doubt if everything goes right, he’ll have two entries for international day [11 December] in both the Mile and Cup.”
Sunday’s win was a third in the race, moved from late March to its new spot on the calendar in June, for Moore and a second consecutive win for both he and Moreira, who took last year’s edition on Harbour Master.
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John Moore-trained Helene Paragon (No. 5), ridden by Joao Moreira, cruises home to win the HKG3 Premier Plate at Sha Tin racecourse today.
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Photo 2
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Photo 3:
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Connections of Helene Paragon celebrate their winning success after the race.
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Photo 4
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Photo 5:
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Club��s Steward The Hon Martin Liao presents the Premier Plate trophy and silver dishes to the owner representative of Helene Paragon, trainer John Moore and jockey Joao Moreira at the presentation ceremony.
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Photo 7
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Photo 8:
HKJC Stewards and connections of Premier Plate winner Helene Paragon, smile for cameras at the presentation ceremony.
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