Werther will attempt a consecutive win in Sunday’s (25 February) Group 1 Hong Kong Gold Cup. “I’d be worried about Pakistan Star,” Moore said, recounting the Tony Cruz-trained galloper’s brilliant barrier trial of a week ago. “Tommy (Berry) said the way Pakistan Star went past him was impressive; he straight away said we’ve got that horse to beat on the big day. That horse is fresh and on the trial alone he’s going to be tough to beat.”
Werther heads into the second leg of Hong Kong’s Triple Crown series off a fine run in the first – a close third-place finish behind Seasons Bloom over the Stewards’ Cup’s shorter-than-optimum mile. “We can't give Time Warp a start again – not if he runs the same sectionals as he did last time – so we need to draw a gate,” Moore said. “We’ve got to be there, right on the speed, tracking him all the way. If we have the same scenario, making up six lengths, we’re not going to pull him back.”
Moore is pleased with Werther’s preparation since last month’s Stewards’ Cup and reported that the Tavistock gelding worked well this morning.
However Cruz favors Time Wrap to win this one. “I still think Time Warp’s the one,” Cruz said as he watched Pakistan Star head out to the training track at Sha Tin this morning. About Pakistan Star he said, “He’s not racing fit, he hasn’t been to the races since June and he hasn’t actually raced properly since April, so it’s a lot for him to do to win this race first time out, this is a starting-point,”.
As for Gold Mount, Cruz is hoping for some luck with his deep-closer. “He’s one of the best stayers around,” he said. “In the Hong Kong Vase he got a bit of traffic otherwise we definitely would have run second or third. He’s got a very big heart and he loves to race.”
| Gate | Horse Name | Age | Origin | Pedigree | Trainer | Owner | Jockey | Race Form |
| 1 | Time Warp | 5 | GB | Archipenko-Here To Eternity(Stormy Atlantic) | A. Cruz | W E Sturt - Osborne House & Martin Siu Kim Sun | Z. Purton | 24 Starts, 9 Wins, 3 Places |
| 2 | Werther | 6 | NZ | Tavistock-Bagalollies(Zabeel) | J. Moore | Johnson Chen | H. Bowman | 28 Starts, 10 Wins, 7 Places |
| 3 | Pakistan Star | 5 | GER | Shamardal-Nina Celebre(Peintre Celebre) | A. Cruz | Kerm Din, Hong Kong | M. Chadwick | 11 Starts, 3 Wins, 5 Places |
| 4 | Seasons Bloom | 5 | AUS | Captain Sonador-Pyramisa's Lass(Not A Single Doubt) | D. Shum | Paul Lo Chung Wai & Kathy Lo Ho Hsiu | J. Moreira | 16 Starts, 7 Wins, 2 Places |
| 5 | Secret Weapon | 8 | GB | Choisir-Just Devine(Montjeu) | D. Yip | Leung Lun Ping | N. Callan | 28 Starts, 7 Wins, 1 Places |
| 6 | Eagle Way | 5 | AUS | More Than Ready-Wedgetail Eagle(Lure) | J. Moore | Siu Pak Kwan | T. Berry | 25 Starts, 7 Wins, 3 Places |
| 7 | Gold Mount | 5 | GB | Excellent Art-Dolcetto(Danehill Dancer) | A. Cruz | Sutong Pan | C. Soumillon | 16 Starts, 6 Wins, 2 Places |
| 8 | Dinozzo | 5 | IRE | Lilbourne Lad-Nisriyna(Intikhab) | J. Size | Sean Jones & Siu Pak Kwan | K. Teetan | 20 Starts, 6 Wins, 4 Places |
| 9 | Helene Charisma | 5 | FR | Air Chief Marshal-Lidana(Danehill Dancer) | J. Moore | Sir Po-Shing & Lady Woo | D. Leung | 19 Starts, 3 Wins, 1 Places |
Trifecta:
1) Pakistan Star
2) Time Wrap
3) Werther
By Apurva Chavan, Racing Writer, apurva.chavan@secretariatsworld.com