The Magic Man joined forces with the Wizard to conjure a feature race victory at Sha Tin Racecourse this afternoon (10 February) that had the large Chinese New Year crowd roaring on their feet.
Joao Moreira and Thewizardofoz brought in the Year of the Monkey with an impressive victory in the Chinese New Year Cup (1400m).
“He’s a lovely horse with a bright future,” said the Brazilian after the four-year-old had put daylight on his rivals to claim the Class 1 handicap and set up a potential next start in the G1 Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup at the course and distance on 28 February.
“That race is possible,” said trainer John Size. “I’ll have a look at the horse and see how he is, see if he can tolerate another run (that soon). I was pleased with the way he did it; he’s done that as well as he can, he couldn’t do any more than that and that’s what we were hoping for.”
Thewizardofoz, last season’s Champion Griffin, had failed at his previous task when beaten favourite against his four-year-old peers in the HKG1 Hong Kong Classic Mile. Dropped down a furlong for today’s test, the Redoute’s Choice gelding made no mistake at odds of 1.5; exiting gate 3 to position just behind the pace, quickening to the lead 150m out and powering home for a length and a half verdict. The winning time was 1m 21.20s.
“It didn’t look like a high-pressure race at some sections and that might have suited him,” said Size, whose charge was registering a fifth win from only eight starts. “The overall time looks good but whether they went steady at some point and then sprinted, I’m not sure. It’s a pretty good effort, his first start in a Class 1 – for a four-year-old going against his seniors and beating them, it’s not that easy.”
The talented bay clocked the fastest final 400m of any of the 12 contenders – that concluding split being 22.28s.
“He was coming back in distance so I didn’t expect him to be up there against these fast horses but the way the race was paced was perfect for him,” said Moreira. “They didn’t go too hard, they gave him some very nice cover – obviously the good gate helped him be well-placed – then he got out and when I gave him a kick he really accelerated.
“He was hanging a little bit and I had to fight him a little bit to stop him going inwards, but then he showed up and showed that he really has top gears. There’s more to come from him!”
In a blanket finish for the minors, Super Lifeline took second a short-head in front of Charles The Great, with fourth-paced Apollo’s Choice and fifth-placed Rewarding Hero breathing down their necks.
The Chinese New Year race day is among the biggest occasions in Hong Kong’s racing calendar and the afternoon’s attendance of 89,881 was a season high.
Moreira notched a four-timer on the day with earlier wins on Lightning And Gold, G-one Bo Bo and Ashkiyr. And it was a case of the “Boys From Brazil” dominating the 11-race card as Silvestre de Sousa kicked off the Year of the Monkey with success in race one aboard Chans Delight before securing his own treble thanks to further victories on Penny Lane and Imperial Gallantry.
