Rubylot Rallies to Win Hong Kong Classic Cup

In a cavalry charge finish down the straight in the Hong Kong Classic Cup at Sha Tin Racecourse March 2, with the entire 14-horse field spread across the course, most of them with chances; Rubylot found more.

After coming from last and widest of all, Rubylot swept by My Wish in the final 50 meters to win the middle leg of the Hong Kong Derby series by three-quarters of a length. Johannes Brahms  was third, a half-length behind the runner-up.

Rubylot, a David Hayes trainee by Rubick out of a Dubawi  mare, atoned for a luckless sixth-place finish in the first race of the series, the Hong Kong Classic Mile, and set up a run at the Derby. The Cup was his third win from six starts in the 2024-25 season.

The strong finish denied My Wish a sweep of the first two races in the series. The Flying Artie  gelding won the Classic Mile Jan. 31 to kick off the series.

Winning rider Brenton Avdulla credited Hayes with setting up Rubylot perfectly for the Cup.

"Hayesey had the horse spot on," said Avdulla, who had three wins on the day. "He had a nice run through and I was confident at the 250 that he was going to get the job done. I've got no doubt if he drew a gate in the (Classic Mile) he would have gone very close."

Rubylot started from the No. 10 post in the Mile and actually had a very similar trip to the one he put together in the Cup. But by the time he got going in the Mile, the issue had been decided in favor of My Wish. Avdulla said the No. 8 gate Rubylot was assigned for the Cup was "a little bit tricky again" and dictated a patient ride in the wake of Mickley and jockey Ryan Moore.

"Ideally, I would have been a bit closer, but it just didn't look any good after 50 (meters) so I just rode him quiet and my only decision was whether I go inside Mickley or around him. I just felt I was going good enough to get Mickley out of the way when I cornered, and to his credit, the horse found the line really well."

Hayes won the Derby in 2003 with a filly, Elegant Fashion . His question now is whether Rubylot can extend from the 1,800 meters (about 1 1/8 miles) of the Classic Cup to the 2,000 meters (about 1 1/4 miles) of the Derby.

"It's been a long time," he said. "It's one of the races everyone in Hong Kong wants to win. To my eye, he was the strongest late and that's a good sign stepping up to the 2,000 meters. Being a Rubick, you were always concerned. But he's out of a Dubawi mare and stoutly bred on the dam side. You always look at this race to find the closers and that's a good pointer to the Derby. I don't think anyone ran home faster than him today. It was a brilliant sectional."