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With the start of the 2013/14 Hong Kong racing season at Sha Tin on Sunday thoughts are already turning to the Longines International Races in December.
Photo by Racing and Sports
Military Attack ended last term as Hong Kong’s Horse of the Year and trainer John Moore is looking forward to getting his star turn on the road towards further Group 1 glory at the international showcase meeting.
“Military Attack’s done very well, gained nice weight, and I’m looking forward to getting him started up because we know he’s the real deal. After Singapore he’s rated one of the better horses on the planet over 2000m,” said Moore of last season’s G1 Audemars Piguet QEII Cup and G1 Singapore Airlines International Cup winner.
“So far he’s just in light work, he’s just done one gallop and his first run will be at the end of October; prior to that we’ll probably get two barrier trials into him, one over 1000m and maybe a mile trial.
"The program will then be the trial race in November into the Hong Kong Cup in December.”
There is a slew of talented older horses in Hong Kong this season with the deep pool including the likes of two-time Horse of the Year Ambitious Dragon, California Memory, Akeed Mofeed, Glorious Days and Dan Excel.
But the younger generation has its share of exciting prospects and Moore is particularly keen on this season’s HKG1 BMW Hong Kong Derby hope, Designs On Rome.
“If I was doing an early Derby market, Designs On Rome might be favourite,” said Moore of the G1-placed Irish import, a winner at Sha Tin late last term on only his second Hong Kong start.
“He’s a horse with a huge future and he’s done everything right. He’s only had one gallop so far because we’re in no rush.
"We’re looking at the Derby, which is a long way off, and his first run will be late October.
"We’ll let him find his feet and he’ll likely have three runs – maybe four – into the Derby, and hopefully when the day comes he’ll be peaking.
“I’ve got maybe about 70% of the stable in Class 1 and 2 – it’s my job to get them there and get to these big races.
"I think we’re going to enjoy another good season and with what we’ve got coming in, including the youngsters, I’m very enthusiastic about it.
"I think we can get to the 100 million dollars again and we’ll pick up our fair share of Group 1s, too.”
Among those youngsters coming in from Europe are Good Old Boy Lukey, winner of a 1400m G2 at Newmarket in July, and G1 2000 Guineas third Van Der Neer.
“We came away with Good Old Boy Lukey from England for Mr Cheng Keung Fai, who owns Zaidan and Designs On Rome.
"He showed nice heart when I was over there and watched him – he did the job really well.
"We also bought Van Der Neer from the Richard Hannon stable and he’s a tough customer. He’s a good looker and we decided to take a chance on him.”