Exciting prospect Beauty Eternal has been promising to win a big race in Hong Kong for some time and landed his first feature at Sha Tin on Sunday winning the Group III Lion Rock Trophy (1600m) to become the 30th stakes-winner for Starspangledbanner.
Trained by John Size and ridden by Zac Purton, Beauty Eternal was a hot favourite and surged home to win by more than a length taking his overlal record to six wins and three placings from nine starts.
He’s done a very good job this season, he just continues to front up every time John (Size) has asked him to and he’s been very consistent in doing that over a number of distances,” said Zac Purton.
“And he’s obviously had to come back (from the BMW Hong Kong Derby) and he struck the wet track and everything that was thrown at him but he’s been able to absorb all of that and still turn up and today he just drew the right gate, had the right run, was well weighted and once he got into the position he was in, it was then up to this level – and maybe a little bit more – and I think he did that.”
A $90,000 Inglis Classic Highway Session purchase for John Foote Bloodstock from the Fernrigg Farm draft, Beauty Eternal is a half-brother to Group III placed Love Sensation and is the best of three winners from Ithacan Queen.
A placed daughter of Savabeel, Ithacan Queen comes from a deep European Black Type family featuring Group I winners such as Crowded House, Brando, Ticker Tape and Reckless Abandon.
Beauty Eternal is the second stakes-winner in Hong Kong for Starspangledbanner, who is back at Coolmore Australia this spring at a fee of $33,000.
