John Moore confident with all four Queen Mother competitors
MOST of the attention this week will be firmly on Werther and Designs On Rome which will represent John Moore in the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup, but Moore is bullish about the chances of his Group 3 Queen Mother Memorial Cup quartet.
Moore will be sending four horses to the 2400m handicap with Basic Trilogy joining talented four-year-olds Beauty Generation, Helene Charisma and former Australian runner Eagle Way.
All four thoroughbreds produced solid work on Monday and Moore is happy with how they’re progressing before Sunday’s run.
“They all worked well and I’m as happy as I can be six days out from a big race,” Moore said. “In particular, Helene Charisma and Eagle Way worked very smartly.
“Joao (Moreira) was really pleased with Eagle Way; in fact, he asked why he wasn’t running in the QEII, but I said that this has always been my plan leading into the Champions & Chater Cup and we’ll go from there.”
Moore explained that the likes of Eagle Way are bypassing the QEII to avoid running against Werther. It will also give Moore an indication on which of his talented runners is the best over the staying distances.
“This was always the plan with all of these horses though, to stay away from Werther,” Moore said. “The QEII is a tough race and this allows them a better progression towards the G1 next month and then potentially to bigger targets next season.
“We can find out here who is the superior stayer amongst them.”
One stayer looking to shine on the world stage is Neorealism in the QEII Cup. The Japanese star will get the services of Joao Moreira in the saddle and he’s happy to ride for champion trainer Noriyuki Hori.
Moreira has won eight races from 13 starts for Hori and he noted the trainers strive for perfection ahead of the HK20 million feature at Sha Tin.
“Hori is a brilliant trainer,” Moreira said. “He goes through those minute details to get to perfection. He may not get there, because no one can, but if you try for perfection then the results will come, as he’s shown.
“Most of the Japanese trainers, they respect you as a rider so they give you good opportunities and when they give you instructions, they leave it mostly in your hands as the jockey, which is great. But they also come and give you as much information about their horses as they can.
“That puts you in a spot where, obviously, you can make mistakes but much less than when you’re riding for a trainer that gives you a specific instruction.”
Moreira has won 24 races in Japan and having that experience allows trainers to see the Brazilians talent up close. Moreira explains how that exposure has allowed him to get gun rides such as Neorealism ($2.75 at Bet365.com) in the QEII.
“It’s (Japan) a good place to be and for many reasons,” Moreira continued. “When you go over to Japan, you give yourself a chance to gain exposure over there, get known by the trainers, and then if you do well, when they take horses to the Melbourne Cup, to Dubai, or here, they have your name in mind.
“That’s a pretty good thing!”