A classy win by Furore (NZ) (Pierro) today proved his second-up success over Exultant (Teofilo) was no fluke as he did it again to lead home a one-two for trainer Tony Cruz in the HK$4.5 million Gr.2 Jockey Club Cup (2000m) at Sha Tin.
Furore ended a 19-month winless streak last start, in the Gr.3 Sa Sa Ladies Purse Handicap (1800m), when he overhauled his five-time Group One winning stablemate and today he repeated the dose – once again as second favourite to Exultant.
Today’s clash however, is the pair’s final for the calendar year and it served as a preview of the strong hand that Cruz holds ahead of December’s LONGINES Hong Kong International Races, as the handler confirmed his duo’s respective targets at Sha Tin’s HK$95 million showcase.
“I’m glad they’re not in the same race – Exultant will be in the Vase and Furore will be in the Cup,” Cruz confirmed, “we’ll go straight into the International Races with them – we are ready.”
Furore contests a second Gr.1 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup (2000m) after finishing fourth last year while Exultant bids to recapture the Gr.1 LONGINES Hong Kong Vase (2400m) crown he won in 2018 before finishing third last year.
Today, Brazilian ace Joao Moreira had Furore in a forward position, following the third of Cruz’s three, Time Warp (Archipenko) throughout the race before peeling out to hit the lead aboard the 2019 BMW Hong Kong Derby winner for a comfortable success with plenty left up his sleeve.
“Time Warp was drawn one, and Furore was drawn three, I said just follow him – everything all went to plan,” Cruz said.
“He travelled very kind, he had the cover that we were hoping for and the pace was quite genuine and when I gave him a clear run, they started to come back and he just kept running and showing his quality.
Moreira takes his record to two pairings for two wins aboard the bay gelding and he is looking forward to a third in the HK$28 million 2000m contest on 13 December.
“I have just done my job, which wasn’t very difficult – good horses make jockeys’ lives much easier and I just haven’t got a word to describe the feeling of being on board such a nice horse leading up to the big day in December,” Moreira said.
Furore’s win was the gelding’s fourth, and second in seven runs for handler Tony Cruz, who is aiming for an 11th success at next month’s Hong Kong International Races.
“The horse had some issues, so once you sort that out, it’s a different horse altogether,” Cruz admitted.
Furore was a $210,000 purchase from the Haunui Farm draft at the 2016 National Yearling Sale at Karaka by Luke Murrell and Jamie Lovett of Australian Bloodstock, in partnership with Newcastle-based trainer Kris Lees.
