Cruz queues up with La City Blanche and Five G Patch
HONG KONG - Tony Cruz will bid for a remarkable eighth Group 1 Standard Chartered Champions & Chater Cup (2,400m) as a trainer on May 26, after showcasing his stable’s staying might as La City Blanche and Five G Patch fought out the HK$4.2 million (S$725,000) Group 3 Queen Mother Memorial Cup Handicap (2,400m) at Sha Tin on May 5.
A Group 1 winner over 2,000m in Argentina as a three-year-old in 2021 when he raced as Zodiacal, La City Blanche (Matthew Chadwick) reprised his best form with a stout display to deny stablemate Five G Patch (Harry Bentley) by a neck with Unbelievable (Derek Leung) third, 1¼ lengths further back.
Reflecting after the frenetic tempo set by Moments In Time (fourth), Money Catcher (eighth) and Ka Ying Generation (10th), the overall time of 2min 25.46sec was the fastest since 1995 as the field strung out before the leading trio was gradually reeled in approaching the 600m.
With previous wins in this race aboard Super Pistachio in 2011 and Chefano in 2020, Chadwick was elated to triumph for his old boss, Cruz – who boosted his tally of Queen Mother Memorial Cup victories to four as a trainer.
“Any race to win is nice, so very happy,” Chadwick said. “We knew he (La City Blanche) was a top stayer, we knew he was fit and healthy, had no weight on his back.
“When they had me a bit tight around the turn by the 700m, he just thought about it a bit, so I just had to help him through that, but he travelled back on the bit nicely and we came around them and got them on the line.
“I was really happy to ride the horse and get the win on him and I’ll stick with him for the Champions & Chater. I had a lovely run. It’s great to sit on Tony’s horse and, hopefully, more wins to come.”
Cruz said: “This horse (La City Blanche) is nothing but a stayer. He has no early speed and he likes the good ground and today Matthew Chadwick rode a perfect race. I expected Five G Patch to win. I said to my owners, ‘I think my two horses will be first and second today’.”
Six-time champion jockey Zac Purton reached the 100-win milestone for the eighth consecutive season, and ninth time overall, with a quartet on La Forza, Bottomuptogether, Aestheticism and Ka Ying Rising.
With 19 meetings left in the season, Purton leads Karis Teetan (68 wins) by 32 and was delighted to achieve a 2023/24 ambition.
“At the start of the season, 100 wins is always the benchmark – if you get there, you have had a good season, so it’s nice to get there again and on a progressive horse, too,” Purton said, after Ka Ying Rising surged to an impressive win in the Class 2 Brandy Snap Handicap 1,200m event.
“He’s done a really good job – he’s always been a little bit lightly-framed and giving him the break between runs has helped him... He’s still not the finished horse and he’s going to develop a bit more.”
With a Hong Kong career total of 1,710 wins, Purton is steadily bearing down on Douglas Whyte’s all-time record of 1,813. HKJC
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now