If a new superstar emerges from this year’s BMW Hong Kong Derby series, it should come as no surprise considering historically, it wouldn’t be the result of wiping out three races.
California Spangle saw that bout on February 27 at Sha Tin Racecourse, scoring an all-around, immediate win at the Hong Kong Classics Cup with the previous winner going undefeated in the first leg, Romance Warrioronly home fourth.
Turin Redsun (GB) gathered from afar in the field of 14 4-year-olds to finish second with a continuous long shot Money Catcher third after hitting the easy initial speed of the California Spangle.
The matter will still be resolved on March 20 in the Derby, the final race in the Classic 4-Year-Old Series and a prime target for local riders. The Derby took place at 2,000 meters (about a quarter of a mile), after the 1,800 meters (about 1/8 mile) of the Classic Cup and the first leg, the Hong Kong Classic Mile.
The California Spangle made a splash in the National Cup, clearing out the sixth door to take the lead. The Romantic Warrior, which started at stall number 13 under Karis Teetan, has never reached a stop. Stuck on the outside, Teetan kept looking back over his right shoulder, hoping for a chance to drop inside – an opportunity that never came.
As the California Spangle rolled steadily, the Romantic Warrior remained on the overland route. Standing upright in the final 200 metres, he produced some points but only after the results were clear.
The son of Starsangledbanner , California Spangle notched a fourth win from six starts this season for coach Tony Cruz. He finished second in the other two, including the Classic Mile, in which he led most of the way before being knocked down by Romantic Warrior, losing half the length.
Zac Purton celebrates aboard the California Spangle after their win in the Hong Kong Classics Cup
The question for Cruz and Purton now is whether batting can go much further, especially if he gets pressured early on. He ran the final 400 meters of the Cup in: 23.66 seconds, the fifth fastest of the 14.
“Of course I was worried about the last 200 meters (of the Cup),” Purton said. “He stood his ground and it was a good effort. Two thousand meters looked as if it would really stretch him.”
Even though his male is a championship sprinter, the California Spangle still has the gene at the bottom of his pedigree from his dams, High Chaparral winner of the Vodafone Derby (G1) at Epsom in 2002 and John Deere Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1T) at Arlington Park at the end of that year and at Santa Anita in 200 — the second time in a crush with Johar.
Cruz, a four-time BMW Hong Kong Derby champion as a racehorse and twice as a coach, said: “I’m sure he has that lineage and I believe it. that he will reach long distances.
“I believe he’ll be waiting up front and I believe he’ll run all the way,” Cruz said. “The plan from day one is this horse, even though he’s a real sprinter, is to wait until straight, wait for the opponent to come and then you do.
Asked specifically if the California Spangle could do the 2,000-meter Derby on March 20, Cruz said with a grin: “Maybe.”
The Classic Four-Year-Old series has an enviable history of future beginnings in Hong Kong with the latest example being Sixty goldwho made it through three races on his way to building a streak of 16 race wins that was set earlier this year.
