California Memory sees daylight at last in HK Cup

Howard Liang's California Memory had a nightmarish trip in the Group 2 Jockey

Club Cup on November 20, but the Tony Cruz-trained dynamo got the lucky split he

needed in the main event, Sunday's Group 1, $2.6 million Hong Kong Cup. His

21-year-old jockey Matthew Chadwick, who felt the sting of criticism following

their latest misadventure, rode with nerves of steel in a ground-saving trip,

and became Hong Kong's first native reinsman ever to win one of the four

International Races.

Slicing between the fading pacesetter Pure Champion and Zazou in the stretch,

California Memory provided a sparkling change of gear. The little gray outkicked

Hong Kong Horse of the Year and raging favorite Ambitious Dragon, who loomed

boldly on the outside but ultimately couldn't match the winner's turbo charge.

Irian, last year's runner-up, speared home late for second once again, with

Zazou coming back to pip Ambitious Dragon for third.

"There is more to come from this horse," Cruz said. "We haven't seen the best

of him yet. This is the race to win in Hong Kong, so I'm just delighted -- and

great praise to Matthew for riding such a great race."

"I haven't been around that long, but he's the best horse I've ridden, and

the biggest win of my career," Chadwick said. "We had a game plan to go forward,

and it worked out for him today. Yes, maybe there was a bit of pressure, and

after some criticism last time, but that was OK and the luck was with us today."

Although California Memory is best known as a deep closer, his connections

opted to make the most of his rail draw and secure a better early position. That

move reaped handsome dividends in a race that turned out to be devoid of early

pace.

Stablemate Pure Champion sauntered to the lead, while the German-based Zazou

loped just off his flank. California Memory hugged the fence in a prominent

tracking spot, in company with France's Byword. Fellow French hope Cirrus des

Aigles, meanwhile, sat farther back in the pack. Ambitious Dragon was likewise

unhurried, and Irian anchored the 10-horse field.

Straightening up into the stretch, Ambitious Dragon launched his

fire-breathing move to join the leading pair, as if ready to devour them. But

the favorite's bid uncharacteristically stalled in midstretch, his flames tamely

extinguished.

Drama was unfolding to his inside, where California Memory was crying out for

room. A replay of his prep trouble flashed through the mind, until a chasm

opened up in time, and California Memory surged to a one-length victory. While

he sizzled home, posting a last quarter in :21.69, the final time for the about

1 1/4-mile test on Sha Tin's good-to-firm turf was only 2.04.57, a casualty of the early

crawl.

Considering that the race tempo was all against him, Irian ran a mighty race

to get up for second, edging Zazou and Ambitious Dragon.

"If he draws a gate he makes it interesting," jockey Darren Beadman said of

Irian, who broke widest of all from post 10. "Obviously the pace was against us,

and we had to come to the outside, and he's really finished it off."

"Drawn 8 (on Zazou), I knew there was no option other than to go forward," Olivier Peslier

said. "I found myself next to (Gerald) Mosse (on Pure

Champion) and we set a French pace. Zazou was very brave and he ran all the way

to the line. I knew when I galloped him on Thursday he would run a good race."

Zazou was the only international fighting out the minor awards, with three of

the top four finishers hailing from Hong Kong. The locals' leading hope, though,

was Ambitious Dragon, who had beaten California Memory here back in May.

Douglas Whyte cited reasons for The Dragon's subpar effort in fourth.

"They just went too slow for him, and I had to get going sooner than I would

have liked," Whyte summed up.

Christophe Soumillon lodged a similar complaint on behalf of Cirrus des

Aigles, who wound up fifth.

"There was no pace," Soumillon said, "and when I finally got out he ran on,

but it was too late."

"To look at him now, you can see he never got into the race," Cirrus des

Aigles' trainer Corine Barande-Barbe rued. "He's done less out there than he

does in a workout in the morning."

Byword had less of an excuse, having been well placed off the leaders.

"We had a perfect trip," jockey Maxime Guyon noted, "and entering the stretch

we were in a position to win, but he simply stayed on at one pace. It was a good

effort, but not good enough."

Pure Champion retreated to seventh, trailed by Ransom Note, Jacobee and

Durban Thunder.

California Memory, who became the first Hong Kong-based horse to win the Cup

since Vengeance of Rain in 2005, boosted his bankroll to HK$24,693,890 from his

22-9-4-3 lifetime record.

Prior to his arrival in Hong Kong, California Memory raced in Europe under

the name of Portus Blendium. A three-time winner in France for Carlos

Laffon-Parias, he finished third in the Prix Matchem and Prix de Tourgeville in

the summer of 2009. Those efforts led to his purchase by the late Dr. Thomas

Liang.

"It's wonderful this horse will carry on the racing legacy of my father, who

originally bought him," his current owner said after Sunday's victory.

Renamed California Memory, the son of Highest Honor took some time to

acclimate in his new environment. But under Cruz's tutelage, the gelding began

to emerge as a smart prospect in the fall of 2010. California Memory earned his

first big coup in the Group 1 Hong Kong Gold Cup on February 27, where he

rocketed to a last-to-first win. He tried to achieve the same feat in the Group

1 Queen Elizabeth II Cup on May 1, but conceded too much of a head start to

Ambitious Dragon and could not peg him back.

California Memory was a disappointing eighth next time in the Group 1

Singapore Airlines International Cup on May 22, and got a summer break. He

returned razor-sharp for this new Hong Kong season, rallying furiously to beat

Group 1 miler Xtension in the Group 2 Sha Tin Trophy Handicap. California Memory

never had a chance when bottled up in the aforementioned Jockey Club Cup, but

his fourth-place effort set the stage for Sunday.

Bred by Fred Seitz in Kentucky, the five-year-old was initially sold for

$65,000 as a Keeneland September yearling. He is out of the winning Spinning

World mare Kalpita, and his second dam is a full sister to Italian champion and

noted matron Proskona. This is the family of multiple French Group 1-winning

sire Act One as well as such standouts as Hector Protector and Bosra Sham.