Ladies Purse winner eyes Group 1 Hong Kong Cup
HORSE Of Fortune is eyeing more riches after winning the Group 3 Sa Sa Ladies Purse at Sha Tin on Sunday night.
The Tony Millard-trained six-year-old was having its third run of the season after two underwhelming performances, but the son of Stronghold produced a stellar effort to score at odds of $29.20 with Sportsbet.
It could now face a meeting with Autumn Tenno Sho winner Maurice ($3.75 at Bet365) in the Group 1 Hong Kong Cup on December 11.
“We can look at the Internationals in December, and, if the owner’s happy to go, we’d have to look at that route,” Millard said. “But if Maurice shows up, well that might be tough.
“We tried him in the Group one at the end of last season, the QEII Cup, but he wasn’t at his best that day, so we’ll see.”
The import from South Africa is currently a $51 chance at Bet365 for the Hong Kong Cup and its win on Sunday was a step in the right direction. Winning jockey Karis Teetan believes it’s now showing its true class after a string of moderate efforts.
“Today we had a beautiful position, they were going nice and easy and he had his head down, travelling easily,” Teetan said. “He ran a good race last time, I knew this time it was a slightly weaker race and going out there Tony said ‘just be confident on him and he’s going to give you a kick’.
“He’s got a lot of quality, he showed that in South Africa, and when he came here he just needed that time to find his form, and, now he has found it, he’s showing he can perform,”
Flashing home late for second was the John Moore-trained Helene Paragon which is now in line for a spot in the Group 1 Hong Kong Mile where it is paying $11 to win at Bet365.com.
“I’m delighted with the run. That’s the Helene Paragon of old. He had to be ridden back from the 14 gate and he got to the line really strongly,” Moore said.
“Zac (Purton, jockey) said he bottomed 50 metres out but that the run was full of merit. He can’t ride the horse on the 20th (Jockey Club Mile) because he’s on Beauty Only, so I’ve contacted Hugh Bowman and Hugh said he can ride the horse on the 20th and then again on 11th December in the Hong Kong Mile, when Joao Moreira won’t be available either.
“He needs the racing so he’ll definitely be out again in two weeks. He’s a horse that does very well, he eats up and never leaves an oat – that’s him. He’s back to the form we saw him in at the end of last season.
“The jury was out after those first couple of runs this season. Being an entire he just needs those runs to get fit and that’s why I ran him today – this wasn’t the plan, originally, but because of his lacklustre runs I decided I had to run him just to get that better guide on his fitness. I’m delighted he’s back on track.”