Hong Kong horses drew a blank in the return leg of the interport trophy on a soft surface that heavily favoured front runners, but the visitors at least salvaged something from the day as Olivier Doleuze surged to an emotional and dominant Macau Derby victory.
After the hosts dominated the first leg at Sha Tin, the roles were reversed yesterday as the four raiders sent for the HK$2.4million Macau Hong Kong Trophy struggled on a Taipa turf track, which produced a diabolical leader bias.
Gary Moore's Viva Pronto skipped to an all-the-way win under former Hong Kong-based jockey Stanley Chin Kin-ming as locals filled the first five places, with the visiting runners, unaccustomed to the boggy conditions, floundering back in the field.
Viva Pronto, owned by casino proprietor and Macau Jockey Club chairman Stanley Ho Hung-sun, won the Hong Kong leg of the series at triple-figure odds in 2010 and was fifth at Sha Tin last month.
The best for the away team was Kyara, prepared by the winning trainer's brother John, who had virtually written-off his chances after drawing widest of 12 runners.
'Viva Pronto had only finished a couple of lengths back in the first leg,' he said. 'It was imperative we draw inside and from gate 12 we had to go back, but today you had to pay up a bit closer, it was just a front-runner's track.'
The Tony Cruz-trained Crown Witness never got hot as he raced wide and off the speed before fading to ninth, 13 lengths off the winner.