A jubilant Me Tsui could easily have been mistaken as the winning trainer in the moments after the Korea Sprint in Seoul this afternoon (Sunday, 9 September), leading celebrations after Fight Hero came within a head of pulling off a remarkable victory for Hong Kong in the Korean Group 1 feature.
Ridden by Derek Leung, Fight Hero lived up to his name with a fighting effort on the sand at Seoul Racecourse. Stuck five and six deep with no cover from gate 13, he produced a sustained run alongside Japanese galloper Moanin down the centre of the straight.
While the Kanichiro Fujii-ridden Moanin looked to have the measure of Fight Hero for much of the home stretch, Hong Kong’s charge was in for the battle, attempting to match strides with his better-performed rival as they locked horns in a mesmerising duel. At the line, though, it was G1 February Stakes (1600m) winner Moanin who scored another feature triumph.
A disappointed Leung felt that he was lucky to stay aboard Fight Hero after an incident at the 800m in which France’s King Malpic shifted out, bumping Moanin and causing Fight Hero to stumble an incident which almost led to a post-race objection from the rider.
Japan made it a second clean sweep in a row when defending champion London Town crushed his rivals in the Korea Cup (1800m), taking the feature by 15 lengths.
1st Moanin, 2nd Fight Hero, 3rd Doraonpogyeongseon, 4th Chublicious, 5th Ace Korea, 6th Wild Dude, 7th Wonder Bolt, 8th Geuma Rapid, 9th Zentenary, 10th Perdido Pomeroy, 11th Today, 12tht Morning Daero, 13th King Malpic
Credit: Ritesh Jamkhedkar ritesh.jamkhedkar@secretariatsworld.com