Aethero heads into his second season unbeaten in three starts and showing signs that he might just live up to the hype that is building around him.
“I guarantee you, he’s a superstar in the making,” John Moore said after the chestnut led Beauty Generation through the line in the 1000m barrier trial shortly after dawn at Sha Tin (Tuesday, 24 September).
“How far he’ll go, we’ll wait and see,” he added.
For now, the exciting sprinter has to raise his rating from a current mark of 89. Moore has a plan to do that, which he hopes will carry the Australian-bred three-year-old to this December’s Group 1 LONGINES Hong Kong Sprint (1200m).
“I’d like to think the ideal programme would be the Class 2 on 1 October, the Group 2, Premier Bowl with Aldo Domeyer on board, and then we’ll wait and see about the Jockey Club Sprint in November. We just have to make sure we’ve got the rating points to be chosen,” Moore said.
“If something went wrong and he got beat first-up, there’s another Class 2 at the beginning of November. We’ve got different ways we can go.”
With regular rider Purton required for Beauty Generation, Domeyer partnered Aethero through Tuesday morning’s trial, leading home established high-class gallopers like Rattan, Wishful Thinker and Rise High, as well as the best of them all.
“You could see, when they came on him he was off again,” Moore enthused. “I couldn’t be happier with him either. They’re all older horses and he’s just barely turned three.
“I don’t think there’s been much change to him. He doesn’t carry much middle, he’s a very good eater and from that point of view he’s the complete racehorse. When he was racing as a two-year-old he didn’t look a two-year-old, that’s just what he looks like today.”
And, on Domeyer getting the ride, Moore revealed that he had discussed the matter with his chief work rider.
“I discussed it with Romain (Clavreul); we got head-to-head and talked about jockeys and which would suit. His name came to the fore.”