Viva the new champ, Viva.
It would seem that the hitherto champion of Hong Kong, Vengeance
of Rain, has met his Moses in the form of five-year-old Viva
Pataca.
After his stunning defeat by the champion elect this weekend, the
purists would say that the fact that Vengence of Rain had traveled to
Dubai and back had contributed to the defeat, but when one takes into
account that not only has Viva Pataca beaten Vengeance of Rain before
(in the Audemars Piguet Queen Elizabeth II Cup) but in this
latest victory, he covered the 2400m trip in a time of 2:24:5,
shattering the old course record of 2: 25.1 set by Red Bishop (Eng) in
1994, and this without really having been ridden out.
Ridden to victory by Mike Kinnane (who remarkably arrived on
course directly from England less than 2 hours before the start of the
race) the horse simply cruised past Vegence of Rain in the last
furlong for a very convincing victory.
Viva Pataca is owned by Macau casino tycoon Stanley Ho Hung Sun,
whose other horse in the race, Viva Macau, finished third. He
told the press after the race, "When I read that all the tipsters were
making Vengeance Of Rain hard to beat, I knew my horse, like me, would
respond to the challenge.”
Both Mr. Ho's horses are trained by John Moore, who had
traveled to Tokyo on Sunday where he had two runners in the Yasuda
Kinden, which was won by Japan's Daiwa Major. However, in an interview
before his departure to Japan, he clearly refuted suggestions that
trainer David Ferraris' `Vengeance' could get his revenge for his QEII
defeat. He told the press quite clearly, "My horse has improved since
the QEII win and Mick Kinane gets on with the horse very well. The
fact that he's willing to rush to Hong Kong after riding in the Epsom
Derby on Saturday shows just how much he thinks of my horse," he said.
Kinane agreed. "Viva Pataca has matured into a lovely horse and
will hold his own against the best stayers anywhere in the world. I
really rate this horse and jumped at the chance to ride him in this
race. He was traveling well throughout and I didn't even have to ask
for an effort. Once I pulled him out from behind Vengeance Of Rain, he
accelerated like a good horse should," he said.
When contacted in Japan, trainer Moore said he was "elated about
the victory" but not overly surprised, but would not be making any
concrete plans for the horse until he returned to Hong Kong and talked
it over with Mr. Ho... who no doubt will be Ho Ho Hoing all the way to
the bank!
Till next time.
The G.Man
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