Viva Pronto puts 'big brothers' to shame
It was a triumphant return to Sha Tin for seven-times former Hong Kong champion jockey Gary Moore yesterday as Viva Pronto shrugged off any assertion that Macau's best are uncompetitive in the interport races to land the HK$2.3 million Hong Kong Macau Trophy (1,400m) at odds of 109-1.
Raced in the ownership of casino tycoon Stanley Ho Hung-sun, Viva Pronto was ridden a bold race by Brazilian jockey Fausto Durso, who took him straight to the lead and fended off all attempts run the colt down by either odds-on favourite Aashiq or Yummy Spirits in one of the upsets of the season.
The race wound up a Moore family quinella, with stewards upholding a protest by third-placed jockey Darren Beadman on the John Moore-trained local Yummy Spirits against runner-up Aashiq for interference in the final stages. But the day belonged to Gary, whose sons Nick and James had accompanied the horse at Sha Tin during the past week and overseen his final preparation.
'They just kept reporting back to me that everything's great. The horse travelled well, didn't leave an oat all week and I think that our Macau horses stood up and showed their true mettle today,' Moore said. 'He's carried 130 pounds to win, done all the work in front and they couldn't beat him. I was worried about the weight because he hasn't been the greatest weight carrier previously, but the pace is much faster in Macau so in that way he didn't have to really carry it here today.'
Moore revealed his plans for the four-year-old, now a winner of nine of his 15 starts, had included the Hong Kong Sprint or Dubai at an earlier stage in his career but now might include Singapore's KrisFlyer Sprint in May.
'Dr Ho said no to Dubai, then I thought he might go to the Magic Millions [1,400m] race in Australia, but the quarantine made the trip impossible. Dr Ho had been keener to run him in the Hong Kong Sprint but we didn't feel that he was seasoned enough for it last December,' Moore said.
'But now that he has proven himself not only a good traveller but a top racehorse, I would love to take him to Singapore. I'm not saying he can beat the Sacred Kingdoms or One Worlds, but I am saying he might be competitive and he deserves his chance.'
It was the sixth win from 13 meetings for Macau horses against the Hong Kong-based gallopers in the interport events on both side of the Pearl River Delta and the third from seven clashes on Hong Kong soil, but Moore said Viva Pronto would not run in the return leg at Macau's Taipa track in April.
'My plan after this was to freshen him and drop back to 1,200m for the Macau Sprint, win, lose or draw, and that's still the plan, so he won't run in the Macau Hong Kong Trophy,' he said.
'But I'll give everybody a head start for this race next year - I think you'll see me here with another very good one in my unbeaten horse Happy Gladiator - remember his name.'
The biggest betting move in the race was for one of the Macau visitors, Eclair Fantastic, who firmed from almost 30-1 to 10-1 before finishing fourth as further evidence that the 'little brothers' from across the way are not that far behind.
Stewards took plenty of time before upholding the protest by third horse, Yummy Spirits, and Beadman said later that key in the objection had been the fact that he was hindered in his right-handed whip use over the final 50m as Aashiq moved out towards Yummy Spirits.
'I think the expression the stewards used was that my whip action was retarded. Somehow I don't think they meant the style. I hope not!', he added.
Boilover
Gary Moore's Viva Pronto took Sha Tin by storm at the incredible odds of: 109-1
