All Too Hard already has the Champion Sprinter in Hong Kong in Wellington and he also has an exciting miler with former Aussie trained gelding Keefy winning the featured Class 1 Chevalier Cup (1600m) at Sha Tin on Sunday to earn a shot at the prestigious Four-Year-Old Classic Series.
Trained by Frankie Lor, after starting his career in Australia where he posted a couple of wins and was second to Hilal in the $1million Bondi Stakes (1600m) last year, Keefy staked his claim for better races with a dominant three and a half length win.
Ridden by Derek Leung, Keefy confirmed Lor’s opinion of the All Too Hard gelding with a facile triumph and he will now be set for the lucrative Four-Year-Old Classic Series, which starts on 29 January with Hong Kong Classic Mile (1600m) at Sha Tin before progressing to the Hong Kong Classic Cup (1800m) on 26 February and the BMW Hong Kong Derby (2000m) on 19 March.
“It was a nice win. I’ve always said this is my best one (horse) for the Four-Year-Old series, definitely for the 1600m and the 1800m. I’m still not sure about the 2000m, but four-year-olds – if their form is still good – can often handle it,” said Lor.
“It was a good win – he had everything suitable for him. He had a nice tempo, last time it was too slow, and this time the tempo was a bit quicker and he was in a good position, so I didn’t have to use him in the early part and so he saved the battery. At the 400m, he gave a very good kick,” Leung said.
Keefy collected a HK$1 million PP Bonus for his owners.
A $105,000 Inglis Classic purchase from the Vinery stud draft for Vandyke Racing, Keefy was bred by Raffles Dancers and is the best of two winners from metro winning Fastnet Rock mare Urban rocker, a daughter of Group III winner Bhandara. It’s the family of another very successful Hong Kong performer in Tourbillon Diamond, a multiple stakes-winner that raced in Australia as Eric the Eel.
The current yearling from Urban Rocker is a filly by Vadamos (Fr) that will be offered by Wentwood Grange at Karaka Book 1 as Lot 614.
