HONG Kong legend John Moore is hoping to go out on a Champions Day high.
It will be Moore’s last hurrah on the scene before he makes his move to Australia and with Aethero and Beauty Generation leading the way it should be a memorable swansong.
With the current crisis around the world, Hong Kong is one of the few places to have kept racing throughout, albeit behind closed doors.
But British punters have warmed to the twice weekly meetings at Happy Valley and Sha Tin and despite the lack of international runners on Sunday, the Champions Day card is another well worth setting the alarm for.
70-year-old Moore is overdue his retirement from Hong Kong. Most trainers are forced to hang up their stopwatches at 65, but special measures were put in place to ensure the seven-time Champion Trainer could continue.
Moore said: “I don’t like to look back, I like to live in the present.”
And that means you can bet he’ll have superstar Beauty Generation on his A-game as top miler goes for an unprecedented third win in the Champions Mile and with it a chance of breaking into the £10 million club.
He said: ““Five is perfect – we’ve got the speed influence on our inside so that will give us the chance to come out and come over, and no doubt camp outside Ka Ying Star unless something foreseen transpires.
“He was very enthusiastic about his work this morning, the report back from Romain Clavreul was positive that he did everything right, he came back and couldn’t blow a match out.
“I saw him coming back and I’m thrilled, everything has gone to plan and it’s all systems go.”
“A little cut in the ground – I love it! I think Sunday was always going to be okay but just that little bit of cushion, I think that both of my horses will just love it.”
Sprinting sensation Aethero is out to silence the doubters, after an up and down season, in the Group 1 Chairman’s Sprint Prize.
Moore said: “He’s the one they all have to beat.
“I expect him to ping and get to the front. We might see the best of him.
“This is a good gate for him, I think. I preferred the middle for him because on the inside, if you break a fraction slowly, you can get knocked down.”
