In what was a prelude of things to come, Japanese visitor Glory Vase romped away with the 2019 Hong Kong Vase, after looking to be in a precarious position as the field straightened for home. With horses in front of him failing Joao Moreira switched from a three wide lane back towards the rail to find the right gaps and streak away to secure a first G1 win for the son of Deep Impact (ex Mejiro Tsubone)
From a wide gate Zac Purton pushed favourite Exultant forward and set a reasonable pace, with Anthony Van Dyck and Southern Legend also pushing forward. As the latter two began to tire, Moreira was forced to make a decision about the path he would take, he chose correctly and Gory Vase went on to claim victory by 3.5 lengths from compatriot Lucky Lilac, with Exultant hanging on for third
“I was quite blessed to get in two off the fence, get cover and get him to relax,” Moreira said. “I had horses on top of me at the 800 metres but good horses, if they face a tough situation, they just go through with it and he wasn’t any different.
“He just kept himself in the gap and just before we turned for home I was kind of trapped and had to ride for luck. I sneaked on the inside and hoped the gap would come. Fortunately it did.
“When I got the gap he just dashed from the 350 (metres) and I knew I was the winner because I had plenty of horse underneath me and he was just attacking the line as a really good horse would.”
Meanwhile, Glory Vase’s trainer Tomohito Ozeki was delighted with his first Hong Kong win.
“I’m overwhelmed,” he said as his Deep Impact four-year-old walked back to unsaddle and have the winner’s sash clipped around his neck.
“Moreira did an amazing job riding the horse. We had a meeting together yesterday and felt good about our chances.
“The plan was to come here, we’ve been targeting this race because we felt the track would suit him and the owner was happy to come. Winning international races like this, this is my job as a trainer, this is the best.”
Purton felt the wide draw was too much for Exultant. “The barrier (14) was always going to make it difficult, so it was what it was. He tried his best and ran well,” he said.
Thanks to the HKJC team for quotes.