HK DEC 8 – DOMINANT UPSTAGES FAVOURITE IN THE LONGINES HONG KONG VASE

By Hong Kong Jockey Club | Sunday, December 8, 2013

Dominant swept from last to first to clinch a shock win under jockey of the moment Zac Purton in the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Vase (2400m) at Sha Tin Racecourse.

The victory was unexpected but that didn’t make it any less sweet for trainer John Moore, for whom this win brought up a full set of triumph in the four LONGINES Hong Kong International Races.

“It’s a big surprise, I can tell you,” said Moore after the five-year-old had held the late rally of race favourite The Fugue by three quarters of a length in a time of 2m 27.29s.

“When we drew gate 14, my jaw dropped out and I thought we had no chance at all.

"He was given a fantastic ride by Zac. He was allowed to find his feet and he got to the line even better than I thought he would because I thought he might be just lacking mileage in his legs to do what he did today.

“I was wrong, I erred. Zac Purton … the great rider … and we are up here with a race we didn’t expect to win.”

Purton echoed Moore’s sentiments after giving Hong Kong its first win in the race since Indigenous in 1998 and steering home the first winner from a double digit draw since Doctor Dino (12) in 2008.

“It was probably the one I didn’t really expect but we’ll take any of them,” said the Australian ace and runaway leader of the Hong Kong premiership.

“It worked out well for me because it was a nice even tempo for him and that’s what he appreciated.”

Purton dropped Dominant out at the tail after breaking from the widest gate and settled into a smooth rhythm as the German filly Nymphea set the pace up front in the 12-runner field.

Meanwhile, the crack British filly, The Fugue, travelled handy under William Buick in the slipstream of G1 Melbourne Cup third Mount Athos, but when that rival began to falter midway down the backstretch, he in turn shuffled back the John Gosden-trained four-year-old.

With the race heating up at the 300m pole, Purton was wide in the home straight and motoring for home, while Buick and The Fugue found themselves taken back and around the field now in pursuit of the one-time back marker.

Dominant galloped strongly to the wire as The Fugue chased gallantly for another runner-up finish to go with her G1 Breeders’ Cup Turf second.

“When they steadied up down by the 1200m and they all started to bunch up I could see a couple of the favoured runners just going to be held up in a little bit of trouble, so I was able to move into the race with nice galloping room around the outside,” said Purton.

“I thought they’re getting boxed up so I might as well try and get a break on them and see how we go and luckily enough I had enough in the tank.”

Moore now has his sights set on Dubai in March and the G1 Dubai Sheema Classic over 2400m at the Dubai World Cup meeting.

“There isn’t anything here for him so the obvious race to look at is the Sheema Classic in Dubai,” said Moore.

The 2011 Hong Kong Vase winner Dunaden boxed on for third, a short-head behind The Fugue, while last year’s victor Red Cadeaux was a plucky fourth, another length and three quarters back.

POST RACE COMMENTS:

1st – Dominant - Zac Purton, jockey.
“It was one I didn’t expect but we’ll take any of them. Around the 1200m everything inside of me just bunched up and I decided to take the opportunity to go around them and thankfully he was able to sustain it and get home.”

2nd – The Fugue - William Buick, jockey.
“It was a tricky race. I was well placed and suddenly a horse just stopped and took me with him. The winner got first run on me and I had lost momentum.”

3rd – Dunaden - Mikel Dalzangles, trainer.
“Once again he gave everything but we were too far back and it was too much for him to do it from there. I just wish we could have stayed on for second.”

4th – Red Cadeaux - Gerald Mosse, jockey.
“I didn’t get a good trip. We were outside the field throughout and Red Cadeaux was very brave once again but he was not enough.”

5th – Simenon - Ryan Moore, jockey.
“He ran a very good race. They were a bit quick for him at 2400 metres on this fast ground. He’s run as well as we could have hoped for.”

6th – Ebiyza - Christophe Lemaire, jockey.
“She ran a good race but I met a little trouble in running. She gave me a bit of a run but not enough. She didn’t quite accelerate as we would have hoped.”

7th - Asuka Kurichan - Yasunari Iwata, jockey.
“He travelled well from a good position but had nothing left turning for home.”

8th – Feuerblitz - Thierry Thulliez, jockey.
“He ran well but basically the track was too firm for him.”

9th – Mount Athos - Craig Williams, jockey.
“He was too keen the whole way. After being freshened up from the Melbourne Cup he was just too fresh I think.”

10th – Liberator - Brett Prebble, jockey.
“I was in a good position early tracking the leader but basically he wasn’t good enough.”

11th – Seismos - Andreas Atzeni, jockey.
“He jumped slowly and he needs to be up there so things were against us from the start.”

12th – Nymphea - Andrasch Starke, jockey.
“I was never happy and we were beaten in the straight.”

STEWARDS REPORT:

DANDINO was withdrawn on 7.12.13 by order of the Stewards acting on veterinary advice (right fore soft tissue injury). GALILEO ROCK was also withdrawn on 7.12.13 by order of the Stewards acting on veterinary advice (left fore soft tissue injury).

FEUERBLITZ was slow to begin. DUNADEN was taken across behind runners shortly after the start. After passing the winning post on the first occasion, RED CADEAUX was left racing wide and without cover.

EBIYZA lost its left hind plate near the 800 Metres. Approaching and passing the 600m, THE FUGUE was awkwardly placed behind MOUNT ATHOS and inside EBIYZA.

THE FUGUE was held up for clear running in the early part of the straight and was shifted to the outside of runners passing the 400m into clear running.

DUNADEN had difficulty obtaining clear running in the early part of the straight and passing the 400m shifted in and bumped MOUNT ATHOS. Passing the 300m, MOUNT ATHOS and SEISMOS momentarily raced in restricted room inside DUNADEN which shifted in to obtain clear running.

Over the concluding stages, SEISMOS raced in restricted room between LIBERATOR and MOUNT ATHOS.

Throughout the race, ASUKA KURICHAN travelled wide and without cover.

When questioned regarding the disappointing performance of MOUNT ATHOS, C Williams stated that he had worked the horse during the week and, in his opinion, this work was very encouraging.

He said MOUNT ATHOS travelled keenly to the start, however, in the early stages of the race had to be ridden along to maintain a forward position from a favourable barrier.

He said MOUNT ATHOS travelled far too keenly throughout the race and would not relax despite the race being run at a good tempo. He said because of the manner in which MOUNT ATHOS travelled, the horse was then not able to finish off its race.

He added that when under pressure in the straight, MOUNT ATHOS got its head on the side and lay in.

A veterinary inspection of MOUNT ATHOS immediately following the race did not show any significant findings.

DOMINANT and THE FUGUE were sent for sampling.

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