HKJC
Beauty Generation planted a champion’s stamp on the Gr.3 Celebration Cup Handicap (1400m) at Sha Tin on Monday.
John Moore’s star made light of a 133lb burden to thump a talent-packed field and become only the second horse to win the race back-to-back.
The five-year-old New Zealand bred son of Road To Rock joined Gold-Fun, successful in the equivalent 1400m feature in 2013 and 2014.
The performance was the perfect critic-silencing return for Hong Kong’s Horse of the Year. That accolade was awarded late last season after some debate within Hong Kong racing circles: his supporters pointed to five pattern race wins, including a trio of G1 scores in the LONGINES Hong Kong Mile, Champions Mile and Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup (1400m); his detractors noted that those wins were achieved off “soft” leads and lacked X-factor brilliance.
“As a racegoer, you like to see something close quickly, like Able Friend or like Winx. But he’s not flashy, he just gets the job done," Moore said. "The way he did it today, in 1m 20.62s, he’s pretty good.”
The time was the fifth fastest at the track and trip in the last decade and was just 0.31 seconds outside the track record. After racing on the speed, Beauty Generation ran the final straight in a strong 22.28s, passing the post two and a quarter lengths ahead of last season’s BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m) hero Ping Hai Star (NZ) (Nom Du Jeu).
“He got the race run to suit but he’s comfortable travelling in that position and a lot of horses aren’t,” jockey Zac Purton said of the 4.3 second favourite. “There have been times when there has been a solid tempo and he’s still been there – most horses can't do that, that’s what makes him what he is.
“He was able to roll forward under his own steam without me having to put too much pressure on him. When he’s travelling like that he gets a lot of confidence and then through the mid stages he came back and relaxed beautifully.
“The horse knew what he wanted to do,” he said. “He got to the 600m and grabbed the bit and wanted to go, so I didn't disappoint him; I let him go and he just did the rest.”
Horse of the Year Beauty Generation oozes class, scoring his second consecutive win in the G3 Celebration Cup (1400m) for @zpurton and John Moore. Derby winner Ping Hai Star flashed home for second #HKRacing #HKIR pic.twitter.com/fH0ofuAhyB
— HKJC Racing (@HKJC_Racing) October 1, 2018
Moore and Purton both expressed in the week leading up to the contest that the Patrick Kwok-owned gelding might need the outing. After witnessing his charge’s emphatic display, Moore was bullish about the future.
“He’s getting better,” he said. “And if that’s the case we’re going into the Hong Kong Mile in December with a big chance again. He’ll go to the Oriental Watch Sha Tin Trophy (1600m) at the end of the month, then into the mile trial (Jockey Club Mile) before the December race.
“Looking at him walk around the paddock before the race, I got a whole different opinion of his fitness. He’s pretty tight; he wasn’t far off. I’d said to Zac to just give me an extra week to trim him up a bit and we’ve managed to do it. I won't have to do too much with him for the next run.”
Purton echoed Moore. “I thought he’d been blowing a bit in his work and in his trials,” he said. “I didn't expect him to put up a performance like that. But John said that he’s tinkered with him in the last 10 days and whatever he’s done has switched him on because he was ready to play.
I think he’s probably got better since last season, or I hope he has,” the champion jockey said.