Sacred Capital in Brilliant First up Win
Macau Derby (Listed, 1800m) winner Sacred Capital (O’ Reilly) produced a brilliant performance first up to storm home over the top of his rivals in Saturday’s Class 1 Handicap (1050m).
Ridden by regular rider Peter Ho, Sacred Capital was first up since December 7, where he ran a splendid second to sand specialist Hostwin Meraki (Swiss Ace) over 1350 metres in his first run on the all weather.
In Saturday’s race, which on paper looked a bit on the short side for him, he was up against the likes of the track record holder Fasuba (Power) course specialist Striking Achiever (Lonhro), and rising stars Mountain Tiger (Coats Choice) and Fortune Treasure (Dalakhani).
In a race that was always going to be run at a hot speed, Sacred Capital began only fairly but was given a reminder by Ho in an attempt to stay in touch; the gelding settled eight lengths off the leader Fasuba who was hotly pursued by Mountain Tiger, Fortune Treasure and Striking Achiever.
Down the side, Sacred Capital started to reel in the pack, and it was evident coming to the corner that the son of O’Reilly (Last Tycoon) was going to be right in the finish, being only four lengths off Fasuba on the turn. Mountain Tiger darted through on the inside and momentarily looked a threat at the 200-metre mark, however Sacred Capital let down magnificently to power right over the top of them.
Sacred Capital has now won seven races in Macau with two second placed efforts and two unplaced runs for close to HK$4 million in prize-money.
The five-year-old New Zealand-bred gelding is now Macau’s highest rated galloper on 128 points and has evolved into the perfect racehorse. He has won from 1050 metres (sand), 1200 metres (turf) and up to 1800 metres on the turf including wins in the MJC 30th Anniversary Cup (1500m), the Macau Derby in track record time, and the Macau Gold Cup (Listed, 1800m).
The gelding has proved himself on any type of track be it sand, turf and on both good and soft ground. In races from 1500 metres up, he has good gate speed and can lead or take a sit; hence his magnificent effort in the Derby from gate 14 to be second in the box seat on the rail out of the straight the first time.
Throw into that an unlucky fourth beaten two lengths in the Sa Sa Ladies Purse (Gr 3, 1800m) at Sha Tin back in November behind Southern Legend (Not A Single Doubt), and a credible third to Doctor Geoff (Fast Company) in the January Cup (Gr 3, 1800m) at Happy Valley.
All in all it’s been a very satisfying ride for owners Mr. Chen Ching Lung and Dato KS Yap.
Gorgeous Bomb (All Too Hard) is a newcomer going places after his dazzling all-the-way win in the Class 2 over 1200 metres on Saturday.
Ridden by Brazilian rider Dayverson Barros, Gorgeous Bomb took control of the race out of the gates and was rated nicely up front. Chased in the run by race favorite Hostwin Shadow (Longhorn), Gorgeous Bomb slipped further ahead rounding the turn and kept up a strong gallop right to the line, winning by one and a quarter lengths from Luen On Treasure (Dane Shadow), with Hostwin Shadow in third.
Formerly racing in New Zealand as Copper Mine, the son of All Too Hard (Casino Prince) was prepared by Catherine Cameron at Cambridge. The gelding won two races, a 3YO maiden (1200m) at Ruakaka and a BM65 (1200m) at Waikato.
An impressive win at his second run in Macau at odds of $180.00 caught the eye, and the rise in grade proved no issue for the gelding on Saturday.
The win gave Brazilian rider Dayversom Barros his 19th win for the season and puts him in fifth spot on the championship ladder.
Harvest Year (Power) is another new kid on the block with a good future ahead of him following his win in the Class 5 & 6 (1050m).
Prepared by Alan Tam and ridden by Roger Yu, Harvest Year had to work hard in the run from his wide gate and dug deep to beat Circuit Guy (Jimmy Choux), with Hostwin Panther (Sepoy) in third.
Harvest Year is by the Irish 2,000 Guineas (Gr 1, 1m) winner Power (Oasis Dream), from the Orpen (Lure) mare Varmint Lady making him a brother to the top notch sprinter Fasuba. Whilst Saturday’s race was not big on class, three-year-old Harvest Year is still very much on a learning curve and for owner Mr. Char On Man, it will be onwards and upward from here.
Japanese rider Massa Tanaka has now firmly established himself in the enclave with win number four on the Alan Tam-trained Ojala (Epaulette) in the Class 2 & 3 over 1510 metres on Saturday.
Ojala is an Irish bred galloper that won three races in the UK before being exported Macau, his victory on the weekend was his third in the enclave; however his time here has been punctuated by bad racing manners, especially a tendency to hang in his races. Perseverance has paid off and Tam seems to have the son of Epaulette (Commands) back on track of late, showing more consistency in his runs.
For Massa Tanaka, the win continued his recent run of success. After taking 31 rides to claim his first win in Macau, Tanaka has now found himself in consistent demand from owners and trainers.
Tanaka is a product of the Apprentice Racing Academy at Deagon in Queensland, Australia where he was schooled by the great Mel Schumacher and Australia’s pioneer lady jockey Pam O’Neill.