Spritely 9YO Sebring gelding Beauty Joy won the Group III Premier Plate (1800m) at Sha Tin on Sunday for the second year running and in doing so became the joint-oldest horse to win a Group race in Hong Kong.
A remarkably tough and sound competitor, Beauty Joy was a stakes-winner in Perth as a three year-old racing as Talladega.
He is now trained by Tony Cruz and carried Joao Moreira to a half length win in the Premier Cup beating Aussie bred Light Years Charm (Rubick).
Drawing the curtain on Hong Kong’s Group race season, Beauty Joy became the first nine-year-old to capture a Group race in Hong Kong since Able One won the 2011 G1 Hong Kong Mile (1600m).
“I was told he was going to be a difficult horse to ride, however he gave me a beautiful ride. At the 800m, he kind of wanted to play around with me with his head, but I managed to keep him very nicely calm,” Moreira said.
“He had the race won at the last 300m – a long way from home – showing that he’s got so much ability and it’s a shame that he’s already nine-years-old. He’s got heart and I gotta say I’m just so thankful for Tony and his team for giving me another Group race in Hong Kong.”
After winning this race last year, connections elected to crack on with another season with Beauty Joy and have been rewarded.
“Last year when he ran this race when he was eight-year-old, I said if he wins, we’ll keep going for another season, if we lose we’ll retire him,” Cruz said.
“Well, he has won again, and he just said to me it looks like we’ll keep going. We’ll run one more race (this season) and then make the final decision. At the age of 10, it could be a bit too old for him. He’s been a very genuine horse – a very difficult horse to race, but he’s got a fighting heart.”
Sold privately to Hong Kong, Beauty Joy carries the Widden Stud brand and has 12 wins and 16 placings from 60 starts and is the best of three winners from Group III winning Jeune (GB) mare Impressive Jeuney.
Impressive Jeuney has a yearling colt by Aysar and has not been covered in the last two seasons.
