Helios Express kept his Hong Kong Derby hopes alive with a hard-fought, head-bobbing victory in the Hong Kong Classic Cup March 3 at Sha Tin Racecourse.
Piled on his earlier win in the Hong Kong Classic Mile, the gutsy performance leaves the Toronado gelding with a chance to join Golden Sixty and Rapper Dragon in sweeping the 4-Year-Old Classic Series if he can handle the 2,000 meters (about 1 1/4 miles) of the Derby March 24.
Distance did not seem to be an issue in the 1,800-meter Cup. Pace and traffic, however, were big issues for Helios Express and jockey Hugh Bowman. As the field neared the end of the long backstretch run alongside the Shing Mun River, things slowed down abruptly. Helios Express, saving all the ground along the rail, was left stuck in a tight pocket.
Right around the bend and into the straight, there was nothing to do. It was not until the 200-meters mark that Bowman finally was able to get his mount out for a run and, by that time, 50-1 long shot Chancheng Glory was on the lead and in full flight. Helios Express dug in and got the benefit of a head down on the line at just the right split second.
Third was Ensued, a Lemon Drop Kid gelding formerly raced in England who was reunited with Ryan Moore for the Cup run. Helios Express and Ensued both reside in John Size’s barn at Sha Tin. Star Mac, third in the Classic Mile, continued to substantially outrun his ratings with a late burst of speed that got him up for fourth in the Cup.
Bowman sounded relieved Helios Express was able to prevail against adversity.
“He settled really well, but then when the pace started to change, it got really muddling. Around the corner, he didn’t cope with that very well. It’s hard to be too critical of him for that reason, either. With a smooth run race (in the Derby), he’ll be okay,” Bowman said.
“Look, it probably doesn’t define the Derby picture. It wasn’t run genuinely enough, so two good horses fought the finish out and I’m very proud of my horse because he had to dig deep and most horses wouldn’t have done that.”
Helios Express got his sixth win from eight Hong Kong starts after starting in Australia. Size concurred with Bowman about the issues the gelding faced in the Cup and his chances in the Derby.
“The degree of difficulty just gets greater as these races continue for each of the horses. His health has been good and his work’s been good so, at the moment, we’re hoping he’s got another one in him,” the trainer said.
Two races after the Cup, Irish import Massive Sovereign, joined the Derby picture with a 3 1/4-lengths victory in the 2,000-meter Somerset Handicap under Hong Kong’s leading jockey, Zac Purton. Known as Broadhurst and trained by Aidan O’Brien, the No Nay Never gelding won two of his last three starts in Ireland.
“It was unconventional to run him over 2,000 meters the first time (in Hong Kong), but the owner really wants to run him in the Derby,” Purton said. “We had to roll the dice and if it worked, it worked—which it has. Off that effort, he’s got to be in the Derby field, doesn’t he?”
Ironically, Moore, who rode Massive Sovereign in Ireland, finished second in the Sha Tin race aboard Simple Hedge.
Leave feedback about this