Beauty Eternal lifts Jockey Club Mile as Golden Sixty test looms
Preparing to meet Golden Sixty (Medaglia D’Oro) at next month’s Hong Kong International Races, Beauty Eternal (Starspangledbanner) landed the biggest prize of his burgeoning career in yesterday’s Jockey Club Mile (Gr 2, 1600m) at Sha Tin.
Carrying the same silks as exceptional miler Beauty Generation (Road To Rock) for owner Patrick Kwok, Beauty Eternal took his racing to yet another level as he repelled the late charge of Beauty Joy (Sebring) by a short-head to win his first Group 2 under Zac Purton.
“It’s probably the first time he’s had to dig deep when something has come at him like that and find and he’ll take some confidence out of it,” Purton said.
The winning time of the race was 1m 33.04s. Voyage Bubble (Deep Field) finished in third place first-up following knee surgery, while a fading California Spangle (Starspangledbanner) could only manage fourth. Healthy Happy (Zoustar) rounded out the five-runner field.
Beauty Eternal – under the care of 12-time champion trainer John Size – broke evenly from barrier five. He cruised down the back straight in fourth before ambling into contention, taking the lead with 300 metres left to run before denying a rampaging Beauty Joy.
“They went a decent tempo and he came into the race nicely. He had no horse to run at and he was there to get shot down. To his credit, he was able to kick and win the race,” Size said. “He probably learned a bit more about racing today.”
Beauty Eternal is now an eight-time winner from 12 starts. Last season he captured the mantle as Most Improved Horse in Hong Kong after rising 65 rating points.
“If you get to the front a fair bit too early and the horse starts to wander around or think, you’re in trouble. I think the horse that’s running down the leader has some sort of advantage. It’s not very often he’s been in that situation so I think he’ll learn something from it,” Size said.
The five-year-old’s earnings now sit at HK$18.15 million (approx. AU$3.57 million) and he is expected to chase a significant boost to that figure in the HK$32 million (approx. AU$6.31 million) Hong Kong Mile (Gr 1, 1600m) when he faces Hong Kong’s current champion Golden Sixty for the first time.
“We’ll see how he pulls up after this race, and that will give me a guide on what to do between now and December 10,” Size said.
“He went to the race in good condition and should come out of it nicely. It’s always nice for the owners who contribute so much to get some nice results.”