Beauty Generation, Time Warp Take Hong Kong Features

Beauty Generation, Hong Kong's reigning Horse of the Year, returned to the winner's circle, and Time Warp upset stablemate Exultant in group 1 racing Feb. 16 at Sha Tin Racecourse with potential trips to Dubai on the line in each event.

Beauty Generation snapped a four-race losing streak, rallying from off the pace to win the Queen's Silver Jubilee Cup (G1) by half a length over Ka Ying Star. Hot King Prawn was third, and Beat The Clock, who added two consecutive group 1 tests in December and January to his resumé, never fired and finished fifth.

It was Beauty Generation's fourth consecutive victory in the 1,400-meter (about seven-furlong) fixture. The 7-year-old was ridden confidently by Zac Purton for trainer John Moore, rallying three wide to take the lead with 150 meters to go and finishing strongly with a hint of the purpose that eluded him in his first few starts of the 2019-20 campaign.

Moore and Purton credited some changes in tack and a switch to Plan B when Hot King Prawn got the jump at the start.

"It probably didn't go to script, really," Purton said. "We thought we might be able to lead this race, but Hot King Prawn, as we know, can lead 1,000-meter races and had too much speed for us early. I couldn't take the position, so I had to ride him where I was and had belief in the horse."

Moore said he still hopes to convince owner Patrick Kwok to let him take Beauty Generation on the road for a swing at the Dubai Turf (G1) at 1,800 meters on Dubai World Cup Night.

"I've just got to put it to Patrick, and I hope he'll give me the green light because I think he'll be very competitive," Moore said. 

Purton had less luck in the Citi Hong Kong Gold Cup (G1) at 2,000 meters (about 1 1/4 miles) on the Sha Tin green. Riding well-favored Exultant, Purton got going late from near the back of the field as stablemate Time Warp showed the way at a moderate clip.

Exultant started to pick things up as the field rounded the stretch turn but was strung out widest of all. By the time Purton got him into full flight, he missed by three-quarters of a length, with longshot Citron Spirit finishing third.

Time Warp, a 7-year-old Archipenko gelding, won the event in 2018 but had not visited the winner's enclosure since November of that year for trainer Tony Cruz. Exultant, by contrast, has won six of his past 10 starts, three of those victories at the highest level.

"That was a big surprise," Cruz said. "I was expecting Exultant to win the race."

Instead, Time Warp, under Joao Moreira, took advantage of a good draw and a good start to get an easy lead. "Thank you very much. Now I can go," Moreira described the feeling.

"With 200 meters to go, I could see Exultant coming on my outside," Hong Kong's leading rider said. "Zac was screaming and shouting, making sure his horse was attacking the line, and he was coming, but fortunately my bloke just didn't give up. He's proven to be a very good horse. He's won some of the best races in town, and he's proved that he's still got it."

Cruz said Time Warp is welded to Hong Kong, but Exultant remains a candidate for the Dubai Sheema Classic Sponsored by Longines (G1) next month at Meydan.

"I'll have to discuss with the owner before we make a decision," Cruz said.

The races were run before virtually empty stands as the Hong Kong Jockey Club, in cooperation with the government's effort to stem the spread of the coronavirus, severely limited attendance. Only owners and a few guests were allowed to join racing officials and other essential personnel at the Sha Tin facility.