Latest news with #GroupOne-winning
NZ Herald
6 days ago
- General
- NZ Herald
Racing: Twain targets spring stakes after Te Aroha victory
Twain winning at Te Aroha on Monday. Photo / Kenton Wright Race Images Spring stakes assignments are in the crosshairs for exciting gelding Twain following his victory in the Waihou Tavern (1150m) at Te Aroha on Monday. The four-year-old son of Per Incanto and Group One-winning mare Fleur de Lune had won four and placed in two of his previous seven starts and
South China Morning Post
03-04-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Connections hoping Howdeepisyourlove can channel globetrotter Cape Of Good Hope
Howdeepisyourlove is put through his paces at Meydan on Thursday morning. Photos: Kenneth Chan Honest speedster will chase his maiden Group One success in Saturday's Al Quoz Sprint (1,200m) in Dubai Connections of Howdeepisyourlove hope their honest sprinter can channel Group One-winning globetrotter Cape Of Good Hope when he tackles Saturday's Group One Al Quoz Sprint (1,200m) in Dubai. Tired of living in the shadow of the great Silent Witness at home in Hong Kong, the David Oughton-trained Cape Of Good Hope hit the road – racing a remarkable 12 times overseas and bagging wins in the Group One Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes (1,200m) in the United Kingdom and the Group One William Reid Stakes (1,200m) at Moonee Valley in 2005. A Group Three winner in Hong Kong, the John Size-trained Howdeepisyourlove has produced consecutive Group One third placings behind superstar sprinter Ka Ying Rising and the classy Helios Express. 'Anyone who has been in Hong Kong for as long as I have remembers the Cape Of Good Hope story, where he got sick of chasing Silent Witness so they said 'let's go overseas' and they took him around the planet and started winning races,' said bloodstock agent David Price, who sourced both Silent Witness and Howdeepisyourlove. 'I'm not quite sure it'll be the same as that, but I know how much John likes this meeting and this just looked such a good target for him. 'You sit there and go 'do we want to keep chasing [Ka Ying Rising] or do we want a little bit of glory ourselves?'.' In chasing his first Group One success, Howdeepisyourlove will also be hunting a first overseas victory for trainer Size and a breakthrough Al Quoz Sprint win for Price's Price Bloodstock operation. It'll be the third year in a row Size and Price have had a presence in the Al Quoz Sprint, with Sight Success running fourth in 2023 and fifth behind fellow Hong Kong galloper California Spangle last year. 'We've had a couple of goes at it – it just fits. It's such good timing,' said Price, who also had the David Hall-trained Bundle Of Joy run fifth in the race in 2015. 'I feel like Howdeepisyourlove looks like a slightly upgraded model [compared to Sight Success] and it's hard not to be excited by what we're seeing on paper. 'I would say this is as good as one of ours has looked going into an overseas race out of most of the recent ones,' added Price, who tasted Group One glory abroad thanks to Silent Witness' victory in the 2005 Sprinters Stakes (1,200m) in Japan. A $3.20 favourite in fixed-odds markets, Howdeepisyourlove's closest market rival is British galloper Believing, who he beat home by seven lengths when running fifth in last April's Group One Chairman's Sprint Prize (1,200m). 'I'm really looking forward to his race,' said Howdeepisyourlove's jockey James McDonald. 'He's a really good horse who's really consistent, so I think that's a really good thing when travelling. 'He's competed against the best sprinter in the world at the moment in Ka Ying Rising. Obviously a fair way back behind him, but he's always second or third duelling it out with Helios Express. 'I think that formline is as good as any sprinting formline around. You could safely say if Ka Ying Rising was in this field he'd be a very short-priced favourite and probably winning by four or five lengths, so we're in the ballpark and I think he's a terrific hope.' Hong Kong has a strong record in the Al Quoz Sprint, winning it three times from 17 runners, and Price knows a fourth success would mean a lot to all involved, including Colin Lo Chor-cheong – who raced Bundle Of Joy and is part of the Lo Profile Syndicate that owns Howdeepisyourlove. 'I'm always happy when they win for other people, so it's a little bit unique,' he said. 'There's a couple of syndicate members who have been good friends for a long time and they can't believe we're on this ride. I'm very excited to be a part of it, that's for sure.'
South China Morning Post
30-03-2025
- Sport
- South China Morning Post
Paul O'Sullivan joins Sha Tin celebrations after Fast Network's explosive win
Paul O'Sullivan was back in familiar territory to join in on the celebrations of his former galloper Fast Network's explosive four-length victory in Sunday's Class Two Barker Handicap (1,200m) at Sha Tin. Originally owned by O'Sullivan, the son of Wrote was snapped up by Hong Kong connections on the back of an impressive trial victory in New Zealand. O'Sullivan trained more than 500 winners over 18 years in Hong Kong, headlined by five-time Group One-winning sprinter Aerovelocity and Vital King who won the 2007 Hong Kong Derby (2,000m). 'My brother [Lance] and I owned him,' O'Sullivan said of Fast Network. 'He had a couple of trials and was then sold to Hong Kong.' Fast Network's latest start coincided with O'Sullivan's once-a-year return to the city and the gelding's trainer, Dennis Yip Chor-hong, made sure he was front and centre in the winners' enclosure. After stepping a touch slowly, Fast Network scythed his way through the small field of seven from last under Hugh Bowman to justify $1.45 favouritism. He cruised past Zac Purton's mount Bottomuptogether to lead passing the 200m and drew clear to beat that galloper by four lengths, notching his fifth success at start 10. 'Before this race, I told Zac I would run him on April 14 but with only six runners in this race, I needed to put him in,' Yip said after entering Fast Network during the closing time extension period. Last out and first home! 👌 Exciting sprinter Fast Network crushes his rivals as 1.4 favourite with @HugeBowman for Dennis Yip at Sha Tin... #LoveRacing | #HKracing — HKJC Racing (@HKJC_Racing) March 30, 2025 'His rating will go up 10 or 12 [points] so he won't be able to run on April 14 now. He'll be over 100 now.' Fast Network was not entered for the Group One Chairman's Sprint Prize (1,200m) on April 27. Supplementary entries for the sprint close on April 7, but Yip said he wasn't sure of upcoming plans for the four-year-old. 'I think 1,200m or 1,400m [is his best trip]. [Christophe] Soumillon told me the mile is his maximum, so he's better at 1,200m or 1,400m,' Yip said. Forza forges ahead Jamie Richards believes the best is yet to come from La Forza after the three-year-old passed his first Class Three test with flying colours on Sunday. Fresh from a dominant first-up win which came with a 10-point ratings penalty, La Forza continued his winning ways under Zac Purton in the Harlech Handicap (1,000m). The son of Toronado ran on from just off the leaders to salute as the $2.5 favourite, beating Circuit Jolly by a length and a quarter. 'He's going well. He's a horse who raced as a Griffin and he's just needed a little bit of time to toughen up,' Richards said after La Forza improved his record to three wins from five starts. 'It's always hard for a horse to win when they're coming off a 10-pound penalty, but he's come out and delivered again today. 'Whatever he does this season is going to be a bonus for what I think he'll be able to do next season as a four-year-old. 'At the moment [I'll keep him to 1,000m] but in time he will get further. I don't think we need to be changing a winning formula at the moment. I'm looking forward to the future with him.' Paradise clings on Little Paradise backed up his strong trial form to score a fighting win on debut in the second section of the Class Four Plantation Handicap (1,200m). An impressive winner of his two most recent trials, the Toronado three-year-old did a bit of work early to cross from barrier 13 to lead for Luke Ferraris before drawing clear in the straight. While he was tiring late, he did enough to hold on and beat the fast-finishing Beauty Missile by a head. 'He's a nice horse. He still isn't mature,' Ting said of Little Paradise, who won a Randwick trial for trainer Bjorn Baker before he was sold to Hong Kong connections. 'He drew wide and got keen when the jockey pushed him out. After this race he will improve. I'll keep him to 1,200m for now because he's still young and I think he'll be better as a four-year-old. 'We don't need to hurry for the next race, he'll probably have a trial to learn more and run again six weeks from now.' Benno's belated double Trainer Benno Yung Tin-pang fired in his first brace of the season, saving his best until last by winning the final two races on Sunday's card with Aeris Nova and Another World. Back with a bang! @zpurton fires home his third winner of the afternoon aboard a talented Another World for Benno Yung... 🙌#LoveRacing | #HKracing — HKJC Racing (@HKJC_Racing) March 30, 2025 Aeris Nova caused an upset in the Class Three Homestead Handicap (1,200m), knocking off the $1.4 favourite Crossborderpegasus by a short head when starting an $18.9 chance. Another World scored his third win this term when he justified $1.8 favouritism with a comfortable success in the Class Three Lugard Handicap (1,400m).
