Hong Kong reaps benefit of booming WA breeding industry
Mid-June has been a prosperous time on the world stage for the Western Australian racing and breeding industries in the past and that continued on Sunday at Sha Tin, led by Premier Cup (Gr 3, 1400m) winner Beauty Joy (Sebring).
It may not have been the Royal Ascot wins of Miss Andretti (Ihtiram) and Scenic Blast (Scenic), but by year’s end, Beauty Joy could join that rare collective of international Group 1 winners produced in Western Australia if trainer Tony Cruz has his way.
Originally racing in Perth under the name Talladega, the Darren McAuliffe-prepared gelding raced his way through the grades from a Narrogin maiden to the JC Roberts Stakes (Listed, 1800m) in 2020, winning his first four starts before he was purchased by Hong Kong mother and son Eleanor and Patrick Kwok.
And while he took time to acclimatise, he has found his feet this season, culminating in a pair of Group 3 wins in the Lion Rock Trophy (Gr 3, 1600m) and the Premier Cup.
On Sunday, he looked in desperate trouble early and struggled to go with the field, even forcing jockey Zac Purton to look down at his legs to ensure that he was all OK.
OK he was, though, as he rushed home with a blistering turn of foot to add the Premier Cup to his record, defeating Lucky Express (Toronado) by a length and putting December’s Hong Kong Mile (Gr 1, 1600m) firmly on his radar.
“I think the horse hasn’t got the early speed any more and we will think about even 2000 metres next season,” Cruz told reporters at Sha Tin. “Before that, I will plan for the Jockey Club Mile and then go for the Hong Kong Mile, but nothing is confirmed yet. To me I think he is a good miler, but I also think he can go further than that. I’m sure he can improve.
“His problem before has been that he was difficult to settle in a race and in previous races when they slowed it down you’d see his head going up, but I think we need to train him to be much more like he was today. If we can do that, then he can run further – we’re definitely running him a lot further next season.”
Purton was left gobsmacked by his performance, moreso because he has proven to be a difficult character at the best of times this season and yet has managed to win five races.
“Every race is something different with him, isn’t it?” Purton mused. “He was quite chilled behind the gates today and I thought, ‘Oh, this is going to be nice. Maybe, he’s at the end of the season, he’s going to give me a nice ride today.’ But he jumped out and he just didn’t want to go.
“He was really stiff in his action. He couldn’t stretch out properly and he wasn’t comfortable. I was looking down, I was a little bit 50-50 about continuing on him and I thought I would just keep on urging him along and keep him going for a little bit and see if he could warm into it.”
Bred by Impressive Racing, Beauty Joy is the second foal to race out of Impressive Racing’s Kingston Town Classic (Gr 1, 1600m) runner-up Impressive Jeuney (Jeune). He is a sixth generation Western Australian product with a family that traces back to stakes winner Key Target (Serheed) and close relations Stray Bullet (Jevington), Glory Hunter (Metal Storm) and Dangervorn (Zvornik).
The win of Beauty Joy came only hours after Lucky Eight (Pride Of Dubai) made a terrific debut in the first section of the Class 4 Spessartine Garnet Handicap (1200m) to stamp himself as a horse to watch next season in Hong Kong.
Trained by Ricky Yiu, Lucky Eight won by a very comfortable two and a quarter lengths to catapult himself straight into Class 3 and put himself on a path towards bigger and better races.
Bred by Woodbridge Thoroughbreds owner Ian Riley, he was offered as a yearling by the Western Breeders Alliance of Darling View Stud, Einoncliff Park and Westbury Park at the 2020 Magic Millions Perth Yearling Sale. Purchased by Moorillah Pastoral for $80,000, he was then offered by Tal Nolen at that year’s Magic Millions Gold Coast 2YOs in Training Sale and was acquired by Yiu for $180,000.
By the consistent Pride Of Dubai (Street Cry), Lucky Eight is out of Hussy Five Oh (Husson), herself a half-sister to two-time Group 3 winner Casino Dancer (Casino Prince). It is the family of Railway Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m) winner Great Shot and Flemington stakes victors Milton Park (Written Tycoon) and Legionnaire (Stratum).
Yiu drew favourable comparisons with his former stable star – and one-time pride of Dubai – Amber Sky (Exceed And Excel), a horse that Yiu guided from griffin company right through to a win on the world stage in the 2014 Al Quoz Sprint (Gr 1, 1000m).
“He reminds me a little bit of him – he’ll go close to what Amber Sky achieved,” Yiu said. “He’s just smart, he’s got a good brain. I expected him to win but that was very impressive. He got better with each trial and he’s got a very good mindset, which is most important for a sprinter.”
The Western Australian links continued in the second section of the Spessartine Garnet Handicap as California Vanes (Hinchinbrook) broke through at his seventh start in the city.
Dam Miss Vandal (Don’t Say Halo) was bred by Lex and Shirley Piper over in the west and won the WATC Sires’ Produce Stakes (Gr 3, 1400m) in 2001 before she was sold for $295,000 at the 2005 Inglis Australian Broodmare Sale.
She has had a prolific career in the breeding barn, producing Group 2 winner Miss Marielle (Encosta De Lago) – the dam of Group 1 winner Peeping (Redoute’s Choice) and Hong Kong Class 1 victor Encouraging (Redoute’s Choice) – as well as Group 2 winner stallion Eurozone (Northern Meteor), himself a sire of a Group 1 winner in Krone.
California Vanes, a $240,000 Inglis Easter yearling, became Miss Vandal’s 12th foal to race and her eighth winner. However, he will be her last representative as the mare died five days after foaling her Hinchinbrook colt in 2018.
Meanwhile, although opening winner Turf Brilliant may have been bred in the east, he produced a timely win in the Class 5 Ruby Handicap (2000m) given his sire Manhattan Rain (Encosta De Lago) was recently purchased to stand at Geisel Park Myalup.
And it could almost have been another WA representative later in the card when Eight Trigrams (Magnus) won; the gelding was set to be offered by Mogumber Park at the 2017 Magic Millions Perth Yearling Sale but was withdrawn and instead offered by Sun Stud at the 2017 Inglis Vobis Gold Yearling Sale.