GROUP 1 HONG KONG SPRINT - MORE MOREIRA MAGIC

By Hong Kong Jockey Club | Monday, December 14, 2015

Hong Kong’s Peniaphobia, brazenly ridden by Joao Moreira for legendary Hong Kong trainer Tony Cruz, defied drawing the 13 outside barrier to sustain sizzling speed from start to finish and win HK$18.5 million G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint at Sha Tin on Sunday.

It was ‘magic man’ Moreira’s 300th winner in Hong Kong and his 55th win for the season ... which is more than double the tally of his nearest rival ... and his third LONGINES HKIR win following his victories on Able Friend and Designs On Rome last year.

Peniaphobia’s win was a seventh HKIR success for trainer Cruz, which edges him one win clear of John Moore and it was a second straight Sprint victory for Hong Kong after the Paul O’Sullivan-trained Aerovelocity overcame Peniaphobia by just a neck last year.

Cruz had a very simple explanation for the bold tactics employed on the horse who has now won seven of his 19 starts in Hong Kong.

“He has a lot of early speed so you’ve got to use it. I thought he could cross them and Joao (Moreira) could relax him and wait for the straight,” Cruz said.

Cruz said that Peniaphobia might now be overseas bound but wouldn’t ignore races in his own backyard. “We’ll definitely enter for Dubai and maybe think about England as well,” said the trainer.

Moreira described the four-year-old son of Dandy Man as a ‘brilliant’ racehorse. “I used him a little bit to get across but he came back to me and gave me a beautiful ride. It’s not that hard when you’re talking about a good horse. He’s so professional.

“He’s been knocking on the door a few times and he made it today. Thank God I was aboard, he was meant to win the race,” Moreira said.

Peniaphobia, second favourite in Hong Kong, held on to beat the race favourite Gold-Fun by a half-length with Not Listenin’tome completing a Hong Kong trifecta by finishing third, a further half-length back.

Another local, and stablemate of the runner-up, Dundonnell was fourth. It was a frustrating result for trainer Richard Gibson given that Gold-Fun had also run second on international day last year, on that occasion in the Hong Kong Mile.

Best of the visiting runners was the fifth-placed Mongolian Saturday, this year’s G1 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint hero, who held on very well after a wide run close to the speed.

More articles