|
Flintshire lives up to top billing in Hong Kong Vase
 |
| Flintshire finally got his head in front in 2014, giving Juddmonte Farms an overdue first win in the HKIR
(Hong Kong Jockey Club) |
Juddmonte Farms' homebred Flintshire ended his bout of seconditis in Sunday's
Group 1 Hong Kong Vase at Sha Tin, but the favorite had to work late to hold off
the thrust of locally based Willie Cazals.
Runner-up in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and Breeders' Cup Turf in his last
two, Flintshire had a major class edge on paper. The Andre Fabre colt was
confidently handled by regular rider Maxime Guyon, who reserved him off the
steady pace before executing a well-timed move in the stretch. Flintshire
spurted clear, only to find Willie Cazals closing fast. The Dansili colt
responded to maintain a half-length advantage in a final time of 2:29 4/5 for
about 1 1/2 miles on the good to firm course.
Flintshire thus became the first Hong Kong International Race winner for
Prince Khalid Abdullah, whose nom de course is Juddmonte.
"It's really important to get a win on the board and it's thrilling," racing
manager Teddy Grimthorpe said. "We've had some near misses with the likes of
Polish Summer (2003 Vase) and Cityscape (2011 Mile), and to nail it today with
Flintshire is just fantastic. |
"I was yelling from the stands 'would you go on,' but he has got a good turn
of foot, this horse and he was traveling pretty smoothly. But I think he'd have
liked a faster pace. It worked out really well. Maxime gave him a super ride.
There were no problems in running and he came through very nicely in the end."
"You are always a bit under pressure when you're riding such a favorite,"
Guyon said, "especially after two second places at the highest level. But you
have to focus on your race and once the gates open, you try to do your job as
well as you can. We ended up pretty far away in the backstretch but I followed
Red Cadeaux, knowing that he'd needed to start early.
"We eventually came about the frontline in the last turn and I was happy to
let him go then. He accelerated without failing, even though he sort of idled
once he hit the front. It's nice to win after these second places. Flintshire
had a point to make here. We knew that all he needed was the proper ground to
give his best. It is a great day for me as I come back here in two weeks for a
six-week stint and that puts my name in the news at the right time."
 |
| The Arc and BC Turf runner-up gets a deserved pat from Maxime Guyon
(Hong Kong Jockey Club) |
Willie Cazals' rider, Douglas Whyte, paid tribute to Flintshire."Great run but the winner was too good," Whyte said. "We were there to snap
him up but Flintshire fought back and was just too strong."
Whyte would go on to fill the runner-up spot in two other International Races
on Sunday, aboard Peniaphobia in the Hong Kong Sprint and Gold-Fun in the Hong
Kong Mile.
Fellow local Khaya, who dictated the slow early tempo, ran the race of his
life to hold third. Defending champion Dominant was fourth, and Juddmonte's
other runner, the Sir Michael Stoute-trained Snow Sky, was seventh.
Flintshire improved his resume to 12-4-5-0. Victorious in the 2013 Grand Prix
de Paris and Prix du Lys, the bay had gone winless since those triumphs last
summer. He was runner-up in four of five outings this term, including the June 7
Coronation Cup to Cirrus des Aigles and the September 14 Prix Foy to Ruler of
the World, his prep for the Arc. Flintshire found only Treve too good in the
Longchamp showpiece, and Main Sequence nabbed him last time at Santa Anita.
"He stays in training next season and that's very exciting for us,"
Grimthorpe said. "He'll probably have an international campaign again."
|
Bred in Great Britain, Flintshire is a full brother to multiple stakes scorer
and Group 2-placed Dance Moves. They are out of Group 2 heroine and French
classic-placed Dance Routine, a full sister to Group 3-placed stakes victress
Concentric. The Sadler's Wells mare is also a three-quarter sister to multiple
Group 3 winner Apsis. This is the further family of Group 1 hero Spanish Moon,
fourth in the 2009 Breeders' Cup Turf and a near-misser next time in the Vase.
Bet Horseracing Free Online at TwinSpires.com
Send this article to a friend
| 
