‘Very exciting horse': Glorious Moments can end trainers' black-type wait after statement win at Randwick
The Lee brothers last tasted Stakes race success in the 2015 Winter Challenge with Keepit To Yourself but the latest product to come out of their stable, Glorious Moments made a serious statement at Royal Randwick on Saturday.
The lightly raced gelding produced a classy turn of foot to put his rivals away in fine style when scoring an emphatic win in the 3YO Benchmark 72 Handicap (1300m).
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The home track victory came at just the fourth start for Glorious Moments which was sidelined for more than 12 months after his first two starts as a juvenile due to a quarter crack in a hoof.
'You do what you can to keep it together but unfortunately it didn't work out early in his career and he eventually had to go out,' Greg Lee said leading up to Saturday.
'The only way that is going to repair is giving them time and that's what we did.'
Glorious Moments made a winning return from a long spell at Canterbury on June 18 then on Saturday he provided his winning jockey Heavelon Van Der Hoven with his first Sydney metropolitan winner, 24 hours before the rider relocates to continue his career.
Van Der Hoven, 32, was born in Namibia and has been based in New South Wales for five years but on Sunday, he's making the move to Queensland in the quest of more opportunities.
'I'm very grateful for the chance to ride a horse like this,' Van Der Hoven said.
'I'm going to Brisbane. I'm just going to try and see how I go up there.
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'I really like the atmosphere and the weather up there.
'If I get offered the chance I'll jump on a plane to come back and ride this horse. I'd go anywhere to ride him.'
Glorious Moments ($3.80 eq fav), a rising four-year-old by the 2019 Doncaster winner Brutal, came from the second half of the field, switching to the outside of runners at the top of the straight and letting down strongly to win by a widening 4¼ lengths.
'He still has a bit to learn,' Van Der Hoven said.
'He didn't know when to travel or when to relax, he did everything a bit upside down.
'He's so raw but he's very exciting.
'He's got a really good turn of foot and that will be an advantage as the races get harder.
'He's a very exciting horse.'
Randwick-trained horses filled the placings with Codetta ($5) second, one-amd-a-half lengths ahead of Signor Tortoni ($5) in third. Stardeel was the other $3.80 equal favourite and finished fourth.
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Greg Lee hinted that Glorious Moments could be 'the best horse we've had for a long while' and that he believes the gelding will continue to improve with more experience and as the distances increase, suggesting 'I think he will run a mile plus'.
Stable racing manager and part owner of Glorious Moments, Keith Lam, suggested that a trip to Melbourne is a possibility in the weeks and or months ahead for the emerging talent.
'He's a lovely horse. It's taken a fair while for us to get to this point but finally he's starting to show what we've known what he has,' Lam said.
'He did that pretty easy today.
'There's a couple of black-type races coming up Melbourne for him.
'I don't have the names of the races here but there are a couple of suitable races coming up for him.
'It will either be next start or maybe the one after. We'll just see how he pulls up.'
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