Moore’s stable of three-year-olds on track for Hong Kong Derby
JOHN Moore dominates the training ranks in Hong Kong and he will likely have three quality entrants in the Group 1 Hong Kong Derby on March 19.
Heading the stable is Rapper Dragon which has won the first two legs of the Four-Year-Old Classic Series and is looking to become the first horse in history to win all three legs of the series.
The gelding by Street Boss enters the HK$18 million feature as the -125 favourite at Bet365 and it ran a solid time in a recent trial when ridden by Joao Moreira.
It finished seventh in a time of 59.13 seconds over 1000m and Moore explains that it has never been a good track worker.
“Rapper Dragon has never been a flashy trialler and again he just did what he had to do,” Moore said.
“That was what we wanted and what we expected. There’s still more to come, he’ll work at the weekend and he’ll have a gallop on the turf next Thursday.”
Stablemate Beauty Generation didn’t fire behind Rapper Dragon in the Hong Kong Classic Cup, but it ran 58.87 seconds in a trial which should give connections confidence heading into the Derby.
“It’s good to see him go out and trial like that today, obviously the way he ran last time was concerning,” jockey Zac Purton said.
“But he was a little bit better today the way he picked up in the last 100 metres and ran through the line nicely.
“He seemed to pull-up well, so the dream is still there.”
The +1400 chance with CrownBet.com.au will likely adopt different racing tactics, according to Moore.
“Beauty Generation needed that, he had a good blow,” Moore said. “The way the connections wanted the horse ridden last time was the undoing of him.
“We’ll look carefully at race tactics for the Derby, but I’d just forget that last run. His trial today was very good and I’m happy.”
Confidently backed in the market is Moore’s newest European import Booming Delight. The British import finished sixth in the Group 1 Britannia at Royal Ascot last year and has since won three-consecutive races leading into the Derby for Moore.
Moore and trial jockey Karis Teetan were impressed with how it worked over the 1200m trial on Wednesday morning.
“Booming Delight’s trial was a beauty,” Moore said. “And he loves that dirt surface, the way he moves on it.”
Teetan believes it’s on track for the Derby where it’s currently an $11 winning chance with bookmakers.
“They were going a bit slow so I just wanted him to have an easy trial, but he was very keen to get on with it,” Teetan said.
“But he was travelling nicely enough behind them, and when I got to the outside and an open gap, he changed legs and he took off on me. He’s right on track for the Derby. He loved the dirt too, if ever he gets a chance on the surface he will be something.”
Top European jockey Ryan Moore has been booked to ride the son of Fastnet Rock for the March 19 feature.
“Ryan Moore will come in to ride the horse,” Moore confirmed. “He’s the dark horse for the Derby. I’m not sure where he stands in comparison to the others. How good is he? I’m not sure. There’s a lot of upside there from a rating of 94, so he could turn out to be a real find, but he still has to prove it in this company.
“He’s done everything right and he’s a big, solid Fastnet Rock, so we’ll see what he can do.
“I’m really pleased with him going into the race.”