Chilean bred Group 1 winner win Champions & Chater Cup
The Tony Millard-trained, Chilean-bred Panfield (4 h Lookin At Luck - Esterina Li by Orpen) stepped up to Group 1 company for the first time in Hong Kong on Sunday and duly delivered when taking out the Champions & Chater Cup (Gr 1, 2400m) at Sha Tin.
Karis Teetan gave Panfield the perfect ride, tracking Exultant (Teofilo) and Zac Purton relentlessly behind pace-setter Time Warp (Archipenko)before mounting his challenge in the straight, clawing his way past the five-time Group 1 winner before withstanding a late challenge from Joao Moreira and Columbus County (Redwood).
Half a length separated Panfield and Columbus County, with Exultant a length and a quarter further back.
“At the 700 (metre mark), I knew this horse would go right through the line because he literally dropped down a gear and started to motor home,” Teetan said.
“(But) you know when Joao comes next to you in a race, you know you’ve got a hard battle. In those big ones, he’s come next to me a few times and he’s got the better of me and I was like ‘C’mon Joao, not today’ and it pays off.”
Grieving the death of close friend Nooresh Juglall in a race fall in Mauritius on 15 May, Teetan dedicated the victory to his wife Xaviere.
“I’m really glad I got this one home. It’s been a tough week. I needed this (race) to get me back to work, to the track and I want to dedicate this to my wife (Xaviere). She’s been by my side this past few weeks and she’s given me confidence every day,” he said.
“If I did not have my wife by my side, I might not have been here at the moment and she was there and kept on pushing me and gave me confidence.
“I had this horrible news last week where we lost one of my best friends and my brother in racing and I take this pretty hard. This win makes it a little bit better, but we still miss Nooresh.
“It’s been a long time since I got one of these big ones, but this feels good. You need to just keep working hard and it will come.”
Tony Millard, who was enjoying his first Group 1 triumph in Hong Kong since Ambitious Dragon’s (Pins) 2013 Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup (1400m), said Panfield had received a ‘proper Millard preparation’ leading into the race.
“We did a good 1800 metre workout and if any of you saw it, it was unbelievable. He broke 60 seconds for 1000 (metres) and he came home (the last 400 metres) in 21.8 and Karis was hanging onto him. I said to Karis after that, ‘I don’t care how good they are, he’s ready’,” Millard said.
“Quite clearly, a lot of the older horses are finished now so that puts him at the top spot as the best staying horse in Hong Kong.
“Karis rode a beautiful race today, that’s exactly how we planned it and it worked out to an absolute tee. I’m very happy for him because it gives him the confidence to know that if he is on the right horse that he can do it. Quite clearly this horse was the right horse today and he did everything 100 per cent.”
In addition to the HK$6.8 million in prize money, Panfield collected a Top-Up Bonus of HK$500,000 – a payment available to horses who have already won a High Achievement Bonus of HK$1 million after winning a Class 2 race or higher before turning five.
A three-time Grade 1 winner in Chile, Panfield is one of 14 Group / Grade 1 winners and 61 stakes winners for his sire Lookin At Lucky (Smart Strike). He is one of three winners and the only stakes winner out of his dam, a winning daughter of Orpen (Lure). Panfield has now won twice in Hong Kong and placed once from only seven starts.
