AETHERO lived up to his billing as Hong Kong’s next big thing with a scintillating front-running victory in the Group 2 Jockey Club Sprint over six furlongs at Sha Tin last Sunday.
Trainer John Moore had predicted a track record and he wasn’t far wrong.
His rising star stopped the clock at 1m 07.58s, just eight hundredths of a second outside the great Sacred Kingdom’s mark set 12 years ago.
As a southern hemisphere three-year-old against seasoned campaigners, Aethero carried 15lbs less than the Group 1 winners in the field and 10lbs less than the rest.
“It was impressive and just outside the track record but he was carrying a postage stamp,” Moore acknowledged.
“But, saying that, his run was great.”
Exultant was at his dominant best in the Group 2 Jockey Club Cup (10 furlongs), galloping to victory in a faultless warm-up for the Hong Kong Vase defence next month.
The Teofilo gelding, third to Churchill in the Irish 2000 Guineas for Michael Halford, slotted in behind pace-setting siblings Glorious Forever and Time Warp before powering clear to win by a length and a quarter from last season’s BMW Hong Kong Derby winner Furore.
“I’m very happy with his condition and he seems to be a better horse this year,” trainer Tony Cruz said.
Waikuku wins
Waikuku shifted out of Beauty Generation’s shadow with a decisive rail-side as Beauty Generation finished third for the second race on the bounce.
Last month’s turnaround, when conceding hefty weight to his talented rivals, was one thing but he went down in a seven-runner field under a lesser 5lb penalty.
“It was a surprise but it was a good surprise!” winning jockey Joao Moreira said.
Waikuku, who won a maiden for John Oxx last season, is likely to run in the Hong Kong Mile next month.
He stalked Beauty Generation and when that horse rolled off the rail in the home straight, Moreira took his chance and won by three-quarters of a length from Ka Ying Star.
Moore was deflated but not despondent about Beauty Generation’s defeat. “Zac said don’t worry about that run, he’ll come back. He said we just need to tweak something to make sure on the big day that he’ll kick.”