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Hong Kong duo Military Attack, Lucky Nine plunder Singapore prizes
"They said it was the strongest race they have ever been able to assemble," Purton said, "and it is scary to think how much he has improved in the last three or four months. "I came here thinking I had a good chance. I would have been happy just to win, but to blow them away like that is a phenomenal performance. "I just began and put myself in a good position and I let Pastorius come around me at the 1,500 meters, and of course I thought he was the right horse to be following. "My horse was just a little bit unbalanced, and I thought if I put him on the fence, it will just give him something to keep him more tractable. "They were going at a good tempo and for a second, I thought it could be his undoing. But then, from the 700 meters, I was looking once again to get on the back of Pastorius thinking he would drag me into the race. "But I could see he was gone and Dan Excel was traveling really well and Mawingo was pinching ground and saving time getting runs. "Then the saloon passage just opened up for me, and he did the rest," Purton concluded. "I couldn't believe how far ahead he was and in the end I just let him idle to the line." Moore, a 63-year-old Australian native who has worked in Hong Kong for more than 40 years, was overcome by his first international victory. "I've finally got the icing on the cake! I've been trying to win this race for years and I've finally done it," said Moore, who had finished runner-up the past two years with Zaidan (2012) and Irian (2011). "I've always liked coming to Singapore from the days I used to ride here for Garnet Bougoure at Bukit Timah in the Pro-Am races. "I loved my stay here and always had very fond memories of the track and the country. I always told dad (late legendary jockey and Hong Kong trainer George Moore) that Singapore has changed to a very professional racing nation." Military Attack, coming off a dynamic score in the April 28 Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Sha Tin, became the first winner of that race to follow up in Singapore. He began his skein in the February 24 Hong Kong Gold Cup and added the March 24 Premier Plate Handicap before venturing into international Group 1 company at home and abroad. "To travel all the way here and stay in this heat and break the two-minute mark shows how much this horse has thrived," Moore said. "Four runs back, there were even some queries about him, but he's turned the corner and has become a really serious horse. "Zac wanted to bring about some tactical changes when he started riding him and it seems to have worked. Honestly, I didn't expect he would win so easily as there were some really strong horses in the field. "I would now love to send him to the Group 1 Cox Plate in October in Australia. I know it's tough with the two weeks (quarantine) at Werribee, but he has shown he could travel. "And the Cox Plate would be nice as I would love nothing more than to win a Group race in my own country. I've actually already discussed with (owner) Steven Lo and I believe the organizers will soon send all the paraphernalia to him."
"He hasn't got into his races his last two and was never really comfortable those times, but tonight he actually put the brakes on the turn because he didn't like the mobile footage camera on the inside, so I let him get his confidence and pulled him away from the rail. "His mind was on the job from then on and once he got the run, he stays a mile so the turn of foot he gave me I knew they wouldn't run me down." Fownes admitted to feeling plenty of pressure ahead of the KrisFlyer. "The pressure on me after his last run where he had blood in his trachea was quite heavy," Fownes said. "Having to travel him here and then get him to perform at his top, the pressure was right on. "He's always had internal issues but you've got to take the plunge and we came here and it paid off. He's tough because we medicated his joints prior to this race and when we X-rayed him he's got a chip in his joint, which we didn't realize he had -- he's that tough. That could have maybe been affecting him as well." Giving Fownes additional worry, the son of Dubawi acted up before the race. "I was absolutely concerned because that's not him," Fownes said. "I was worried coming into the parade, but once we managed to saddle him and sweat him down and get him out walking and chill a bit he was good. "We saw the real Lucky Nine tonight," the trainer added. "He's been unlucky overseas on a number of occasions previously, so it was great to see everything fall into place. "This means a lot to us to come here and win on international soil. We'll put him away now and we'll look forward to the next season. "I'd like to win a Group 1 in Australia -- my wife's Australian and the people there are really passionate about their racing, so we'll talk to the owner and see about that." Australia's Bel Sprinter rallied from near the tail of the field to grab second, edging Super Easy on the line. Next came Balmont Mast, Kavanagh, Speedy Cat, Goal Keeper, Mr Big, Dux Scholar and Dasher Go Go. There was an incident down the lane as Emerald Hill went wrong and unseated jockey Jose Verenzuela. "He was traveling good, but suddenly at around the 250-meter mark, he switched his lead and broke down. There was nothing I could do about it." Bet Horseracing Free Online at TwinSpires.com
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