Top trainer Tony Cruz is eyeing a career-ender with a Group One bang for grand galloper Egyptian Ra after the eight-year-old toughed it out to win the Group Three Chinese Club Challenge Cup (1,400m) yesterday at Sha Tin in familiar style.
For Cruz, the day was a happy return to where his second career virtually began, on New Year's Day 14 years ago, as he celebrated with the feature race after notching his 700th career winner as a trainer with Penglai Xianzi (Matthew Chadwick) earlier on the card.
It was January 1, 1996, when Cruz won the final event of New Year's Day on Super Team to finish his brilliant riding career in style and take up a record-breaking training career, which sees him ranked behind only John Moore, Brian Kan Ping-chee and George Moore as the most successful handlers in Hong Kong history.
Bowing out of the saddle on the auspicious day, Cruz has continued to make his mark on January 1, with Egyptian Ra his fourth winner of the Chinese Club Challenge Cup in the past nine runnings of the race and he is already looking ahead to a swansong with real flair for the gelding.
'As long as Egyptian Ra remains sound, he is still running well in everything and I thought he ran a great race in the Hong Kong Mile,' he said.
'He'll go to the Stewards' Cup now and the other Group races - there are no other options - but I'm thinking as this is probably his last season maybe we could try going somewhere else with him before he's retired.
'I think the Yasuda Kinen would be a terrific race for him. The track is firm there in Tokyo and he's that kind of horse - the faster the better for him.'