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The bloom had fallen off the proverbial rose ever so slightly for Pakistan Star (Ger) (Shamardal), the ‘TDN Rising Star’ who snagged victory from the jaws of defeat in two astonishing wins to begin his career, only to be rolled at long odds-on in his last three efforts. But facing his fellow ‘griffins’ at level weights, the bay snapped back into form with a smooth success in Tuesday’s Griffin Trophy at Sha Tin.
Backed into $12.50 (1-4) favoritism, the typically slow-starting Pakistan Star broke running this time and though his was fifth upon settling, he was no more than four lengths away from pacesetting Sea Jade (Aus) (Star Witness {Aus}), who had things very much his own way up front. Kept busy throughout by Joao Moreira, in the boot for the first time, Pakistan Star made eyecatching progress while wide on the turn and loomed upsides the front-runner at the top of the lane. Asked to quicken with 200m to travel, Pakistan Star still showed signs of greenness, hopping onto his incorrect lead, but he came away to score by a relatively hasslefree 2 3/4 lengths from Sea Jade (video).
“I’m very happy with that, Joao looked to have his hands full of horse at the top of the straight and he took the chance, sent him out early and won the race. We couldn’t ask for more,” commented trainer Tony Cruz, who confirmed the Jan. 22 Hong Kong Classic Mile is next on the agenda. The conditioner hopes to have the ‘Magic Man’ along for the ride, but the Brazilian–who will have his pick among many of the Classic generation–wasn’t playing his hand just yet.
“I can say that now he is definitely not mature enough to be facing the top horses at this stage, but he indicates to me that he will be one of those top horses in time. It’s just a matter of time,” Moreira opined.
An €180,000 purchase by the Hong Kong Jockey Club at the Arqana August Yearling Sale in 2014, Pakistan Star was knocked down for HK$6 million at the Hong Kong International Sale last March. With his win
Tuesday, his earnings now stand at HK$4.3 million through six career starts.
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Backed into $12.50 (1-4) favoritism, the typically slow-starting Pakistan Star broke running this time and though his was fifth upon settling, he was no more than four lengths away from pacesetting Sea Jade (Aus) (Star Witness {Aus}), who had things very much his own way up front. Kept busy throughout by Joao Moreira, in the boot for the first time, Pakistan Star made eyecatching progress while wide on the turn and loomed upsides the front-runner at the top of the lane. Asked to quicken with 200m to travel, Pakistan Star still showed signs of greenness, hopping onto his incorrect lead, but he came away to score by a relatively hasslefree 2 3/4 lengths from Sea Jade (video).
“I’m very happy with that, Joao looked to have his hands full of horse at the top of the straight and he took the chance, sent him out early and won the race. We couldn’t ask for more,” commented trainer Tony Cruz, who confirmed the Jan. 22 Hong Kong Classic Mile is next on the agenda. The conditioner hopes to have the ‘Magic Man’ along for the ride, but the Brazilian–who will have his pick among many of the Classic generation–wasn’t playing his hand just yet.
“I can say that now he is definitely not mature enough to be facing the top horses at this stage, but he indicates to me that he will be one of those top horses in time. It’s just a matter of time,” Moreira opined.
An €180,000 purchase by the Hong Kong Jockey Club at the Arqana August Yearling Sale in 2014, Pakistan Star was knocked down for HK$6 million at the Hong Kong International Sale last March. With his win
Tuesday, his earnings now stand at HK$4.3 million through six career starts.
Continue reading...