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Visiting Audemars Piguet QEII Cup contenders may not be able to overcome the local brigade at Sha Tin on Sunday according to Hong Kong's most prolific winning trainer John Moore.
Photo by Racing and Sports
In the past ten years, the QEII spoils have been evenly split with five local wins and five overseas-trained winners but Moore believes the home ground advantage could be decisive this year.
Moore, who won the race with Viva Pataca in 2007 and 2010, saddles up Irian and Zaidan and rates both as strong contenders.
"I think I have as good a chance as anyone with my two, although I do acknowledge that Sweet Orange is going to be hard to beat," Moore said.
"I do think the race will be won by a local. I'm not convinced about the overseas challenge and the hometown advantage is a big, big factor."
Moore's pair Irian and Zaidan worked together on Monday morning and while the former shaded his stablemate, the trainer was pleased with both.
“Irian just had the edge on Zaidan but both worked soundly. Olivier Doleuze was delighted with Zaidan and Tim Clark very happy with Irian.
“I think Irian might be back in form. He's had some issues with speedy cutting but we've addressed that with corrective shoeing.
"The weather warming up has been good for him and he does hit a purple patch at this time of the year.
“Zaidan's a different horse since we gelded him. I've always thought he'd be up to the best.
"His run was excellent in the Derby, caught three wide with no cover and over-racing a fraction. That probably cost him the race,” Moore said.
California Memory, the highest rated local hope, showed his well-being in a barrier trial at Sha Tin last Friday, closing out to “win” the 1200m heat.
His trainer Tony Cruz is looking for a return to form for last year's AP QEII Cup second after a below-par effort in the G1 Dubai Duty Free at Meydan on 31 March.
“California Memory didn't pull up so good after the Dubai race so we have given him a little time to get over that and he seems to have got over the trip now,” said Cruz. “He's well and he did good in the barrier trial last week.”
Cruz is double-handed in his AP QEII Cup assault with Pure Champion aiming for the biggest victory of his career.
Successful in the 1800m HKG3 January Cup earlier this year, the five-year-old was a fine fourth over the course and distance in the HKG1 Citibank Hong Kong Gold Cup in February.
“Pure Champion is in great condition and I'm just hoping for a good draw,” continued the trainer. “He's in fantastic shape.”
While Moore offered his typically well considered and expansive views and Cruz was sounding more bullish with his pair, the latest overseas arrivals Chinchon and Viscount Nelson were preparing for their first hit-outs since landing in Hong Kong and both camps reported they were pleased with how their horses had travelled and settled in.
Trevor Brown is supervising Viscount Nelson's preparation for trainer Mike de Kock while Stephane Duprey is managing Chinchon for Carlos Laffon-Parias. Both men are well experienced in Hong Kong and have regularly travelled horses around the globe.
Brown was here with 2008 QEII Cup winner Archipenko and likened Viscount Nelson to the second of de Kock's two QEII Cup winners.
“This horse reminds me a lot of Archipenko so maybe that's a good sign. He's very competitive and he comes here very fit after five runs in Dubai and he had no issues travelling here which is the most important thing,” Brown said.
The runner-up to Archipenko in 2008 was the Laffon-Parias-trained Balius who had Duprey at his side. He too is pleased with his 2012 runner Chinchon who ran fourth behind Presvis in the QEII Cup in 2009.
“He arrived on Saturday and he travelled very well. No issues. He's used to it now,” Duprey said of the horse who has raced in five different countries in his past seven starts.
Chinchon won in France on 17 March at his first appearance for the year after a three run international campaign in 2011 which included a fifth placing, one spot ahead of Japanese hopeful Rulership, in the Sheema Classic in Dubai.
Rulership, like Chinchon and Viscount Nelson, was not asked to do much on the track on Tuesday morning.