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Glorious Forever (left) and his brother Time Warp, who will continue their racing rivalry in Sunday’s Group One Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup at Sha Tin Racecourse, in Hong Kong.

Sibling rivalry returns to racing in the Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup

  • Brothers Glorious Forever and Time Warp are set to compete against each other again in Sunday’s Group One race at Sha Tin
  • Time Warp aims to repeat his victory in last year’s race, when he became the first horse to break the two-minute mark over Sha Tin’s 2,000-metre course
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The fierce rivalry between brothers Glorious Forever and Time Warp is poised to take another turn in the Group One Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup (2,000m) at Sha Tin on Sunday.

In one of the most intriguing Hong Kong racing stories in recent memory, they are the only full brothers racing, having been sired by Archipenko out of the mare Here To Eternity, leading to the rare family feud that has unfolded since last year.

“It’s good for Hong Kong racing: I like to see them race against each other,” Frankie Lor Fu-chuen, Glorious Forever’s trainer, said.

“The fans love it: whether they like Time Warp or my horse, I don’t know.

“They are both such high-rated horses so they will always be in the same race. They are very similar.”

Time Warp becomes the first horse to break the two-minute mark for Sha Tin’s 2,000-metre course as he wins the 2018 Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup last February.

Both horses were sourced by British bloodstock agent Alastair Donald, the man who unearthed Hong Kong’s record prize-money earner Viva Pataca.

[The rivalry] is good for Hong Kong racing ... fans love it: whether they like Time Warp or my horse, I don’t know
Frankie Lor Fu-chuen, trainer, Glorious Forever

Interestingly, Donald sourced Glorious Forever for initial owner Kenneth Lau Ip-keung before the older Time Warp was bought for Martin Siu Kim-sun.

“Time Warp had won four races in a row [in Britain and France],” Donald said.

“He was a horse who qualified for Hong Kong and came up on the radar as a tough, solid performer. I went to see the horse and he was impressive. I couldn’t get anyone to buy him, so no deal got done.

“About a month later I was at the Tattersalls October Yearling Sale Book One and I saw [Glorious Forever]. He was a virtual clone of Time Warp. I knew how well Time Warp had developed and so we bought the brother.

“The following year I managed to broker a deal for Martin Siu to buy Time Warp as a three-year-old after he had won a Listed race in France easily.”

Once an upstart looking to follow in his brother’s footsteps, Glorious Forever is now a bona fide star in his own right after seizing the front, the initiative, and the prize in the Longines Hong Kong Cup (2,000m) in December.

Glorious Forever wins the 2018 Longines Hong Kong Cup at Sha Tin last December.

Time Warp finished third in that race, an effort not to be sneezed at by any means, but whether the Tony Cruz-trained six-year-old can shine again on the Group One stage remains to be seen.

His best is something to behold – his trophy cabinet includes the 2017 Hong Kong Cup and last year’s Gold Cup – and he will no doubt be fighting tooth and nail at the head of the field when the pair of renowned front-runners lock horns.

The Gold Cup is the only Group 1 title that Glorious Forever has yet to snag from his brother– the five-year-old has taken both the Hong Kong Cup crown and his 2,000 metres Sha Tin track record.

At this year’s Gold Cup, Time Warp will be out to keep one up on his brother by retaining his Gold Cup crown.

However, it hasn’t been all one-way traffic. Of the four times the pair have met, they have each won once, with Time Warp pipping Glorious Forever by a neck in November’s Group Three Sa Sa Ladies’ Purse (1,800m).

Time Warp (No 3), ridden by Zac Purton, beats Glorious Forever (No 8) to win the Sa Sa Ladies’ Purse at Sha Tin last November.

Glorious Forever’s rise has been rapid, with the gelding winning at Class Two level last October before saluting on the Group One stage on international day.

Lor has witnessed Glorious Forever’s swift improvement first-hand after remarking that early on he wasn’t sure how good the horse would be.

“When he came to my stables he was a bit skinny and he looked a bit dumb, but after a few gallops and trials he kept getting better,” Lor said. “Then I put the blinkers on and he went to another level.”

Glorious Forever (left), ridden by Silvestre de Sousa, battles with brother Time Warp, ridden by Zac Purton, in the Longines Hong Kong Cup at Sha Tin last December.

While they are both genuine stars of Hong Kong racing, there is a feeling that Time Warp and Glorious Forever both need everything to go their way to win.

This was evident in their most recent clash in the Group Three Centenary Vase (1,800m) on January 27, when the duo filled the last two placings after Pingwu Spark challenged them for the lead.

That front-running style has seen both horses encounter trouble at certain times and never more so than in the Group Two BOCHK Jockey Club Cup (2,000m) in November, when they engaged in a speed battle at the front of the field before fading dramatically late and allowing Eagle Way to swoop from the back and win, eclipsing Glorious Forever’s track record as well.

Of Time Warp’s six wins, he has led all the way in every one of them, while Glorious Forever has done the same in three of his four victories.

So, will one of these stars get to lead on their own terms in the Gold Cup, creating the possibility of another epic brotherly battle?

“If they have to fight together it’s not very good, like the Jockey Club Cup,” Lor said.

“I think I will ask the jockey to try to sit behind and take his time.”

Exultant, ridden by Zac Purton, wins the Centenary Vase at Sha Tin in January.

Of course, there are a host of other horses hell-bent on ensuring the riches don’t stay in the family and Zac Purton will be aboard the in-form Exultant after jumping off Time Warp ahead of the Centenary Vase.

Exultant comes into the race on the back of victories in the Group One Hong Kong Vase and the Centenary Vase and will be well-fancied to make it a hat-trick of victories on Sunday.

Yet despite the form of Purton’s mount, it will be the upfront duel between the brothers that everyone will be watching when the gates crash back on race day.

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