Smith triumphs first-up with Hong Kong cast-off Digital Victory
Wayne Smith pulled off a masterly triumph with his Hong Kong cast-off Digital Victory (Bernardini), who won like a good horse in Friday night’s Class 4 over 1350 metres under Peter Ho, landing some confident bets in the process.
Digital Victory, who only touched down in Macau on November 23, made light of his quick prep and maiden local opposition when he powered away to beat race-favourite Blackjack Mok (All Too Hard), with Harvest Year (Power) back in third.
A son of Bernardini (A P Indy) from Miss Zapper (Red Ransom), Digital Victory’s story started off as a NZD$100,000 purchase at the 2017 NZB 2YO Ready To Run Sale. Sent to the Hong Kong stables of Jimmy Ting, the gelding showed ability as Digital Triumph, and ran a nice race on debut in Class 4 off a wide trip at Sha Tin over 1200 metres. Problems then arose for the gelding and he was retired from racing in Hong Kong.
“He suffered a bad quarter crack in his hoof and then a collapsed heel. I went over to Hong Kong to have a look at him and suggested they send him back to New Zealand for six months or so to see how he went,” Smith said.
“Joe Barnes, the former Macau trainer, took care of him for us and he recovered well, so it was decided to send him back to Macau and give him a go.”
He continued: “I usually like to take plenty of time with my horses, but he did so well after he got here and he gave me a very nice feel in the morning.
“So, I decided to give him a soft trial behind the Class 1 horse Golden Conqueror, and while he finished a distant third, he went well traveling alongside good class horses. He thrived after the trial and I gave him a super chance on Friday night and it paid off.”
Smith made it a double for the weekend on Sunday when Ocean Warrior (Ocean Park) led throughout under Japanese rider Shogo Nakano for an easy win in the Class 4 (Division 2) over 1500 metres on turf, defeating race-favourite Ronson (Eurozone).
Ocean Warrior made it win number two in Macau with three placed efforts from his 12 runs to date. Smith was full of praise for Nakano after the win as he got the keen-going son of Ocean Park (Thorn Park) to relax in the run.
“I told Shogo not to push him out of the gates, just let him jump himself as he fires up and races too hard,” Smith said.
“There was no other speed in the race and he got him to really relax well, and got a nice kick around the bend just by letting him slip. He was nice and strong at the end today.”
Smith is doing a fine job with his smaller team of 16 horses and has now posted 11 winners from only 73 runners this season with seven placed efforts.
Japanese import Satono Eternal (Deep Impact) scored a dominant win in Sunday’s Class 5 & 6 over 1800 metres to give jockey Peter Ho three winners for the weekend.
Prepared by K H Leong, Satono Eternal settled at the tail of the field with Ho biding his time until the 400 metres, when he allowed the son of Deep Impact (Sunday Silence) to slide off the back of the tailenders and straighten up in clear running.
The lightly-framed gelding showed a glimpse of his famous sires amazing finishing burst when he zoomed down the outside and put paid to his rivals in a twinkling.
It’s hard to imagine that it was only win number two in the enclave for the gelding, who is one of Macau’s smallest horses at 970 pounds. His only other win was also at 1800 metres in a similar dominating fashion. The gelding definitely looks far classier than Class 5 & 6 and should at least win in Class 3 & 4 over staying trips.
Satono Eternal is bred in the pink. As well as being by the great Deep Impact, he is out of So Many Ways (Sightseeing) who was unbeaten as a two-year-old and a winner of the Spinaway Stakes (Gr 1, 7f) at Saratoga.
Nuclear Fusion (Sebring) gave popular owner Mr Mok Shing Fung another bargain-priced winner when he ran away from his rivals under a superb Eric Cheung ride to win the Class 3 Handicap over 1500 metres on Sunday.
Prepared in Macau by Sio Cheong, it was the first win for the former Australia-trained gelding, who raced there as Mandela, winning a three-year-old maiden at Randwick when prepared by Peter and Paul Snowden.
Originally a AUD$280,000 purchase at the 2018 Magic Millions Gold Coast Yearling Sale, the son of Sebring (More Than Reay) obviously did not live up to expectations and was put through the Inglis February (Early) Online Sale last year, where he was picked up by a bargain-hunting Mok for AUD$47,500.
From his five starts in Macau, the gelding’s record reads one win and two placings.
Mok’s shrewd buying on the Inglis Digital platform has seen him pick up a host of former expensive horses for cheap money, such as Rock To Road (Stryker), Simon Fubuki (Medaglia D’Oro), Casino Mok (Casino Prince) and Blackjack Mok (All Too Hard), all of whom have won in the enclave.
Gon Sai Baau (Smart Missile) is another Australian import that is paying his way in Macau, scoring his second win in the enclave when he powered to the line late to win under Luis Corrales for trainer Danny Wong in the Class 2 over 1200 metres on Sunday.
In a race run at hot speed, Gon Sai Baau came with a rush late to down Loxwood (Pierro) by a neck, with Famous Medal (Benfica) a further three-quarters of a length away in third.
A five-year-old son of Smart Missile (Fastnet Rock), Gon Sai Baau raced in Australia as Final Award and he won the Canberra Guineas (Listed, 1400m) and a maiden on the Kensington track at Randwick when trained by Mark Newnham.