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Mogul s victory in the Kong Kong Vase was the third win in the race for both jockey Ryan Moore and trainer Aidan O Brien
Vindicating Aidan O Brien s long-held faith, Mogul has emphatically underlined claims as heir apparent to Ballydoyle s throne after claiming victory in Sunday s HK$20 million Longines Hong Kong Vase (2400m) at Sha Tin.
Providing Aidan O Brien s third triumph in the race, adding to Highland Reel s 2015 and 2017 wins, Mogul downed Hong Kong champion Exultant and Columbus County to also give Ryan Moore his third Vase success.
Yet another son of Galileo, Mogul has long been touted as the next world-beater to emerge from O Brien s yard and proved his class by overwhelming Exultant, a five-time G1 winner and Hong Kong s reigning Horse of the Year.
Japan's Danon Smash, Normcore Triumphant in Hong Kong bloodhorse.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from bloodhorse.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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Ryan Moore won the first two Group 1 races on 2020 Hong Kong International Raceday, steering Japanese sprinter Danon Smash to victory in the HK$22m (A$3.8m) G1 Longines Hong Kong Sprint (1200m) as nothing went right for Australian sprinter Classique Legend.
Danon Smash, with the benefit of a brief breather, then peeled out at the top of the straight and struck the front with 150 metres remaining, holding a half-length advantage at the finish.
Jolly Banner ($84) finished second ahead of Rattan ($23), Wishful Thinker ($42) and Fat Turtle ($144) – the first five placegetters separated by just 1.25 lengths with all of them settling in the second half of the 14-horse field. Hot King Prawn ($2.10 favourite) finished seventh, 1.5 lengths behind Danon Smash.
Classique Legend ready to go for Hong Kong Sprint Classique Legend takes it in at Sha Tin. Source: HKJC
The Longines Hong Kong Sprint (1200m) preparation - both flawed and challenging - is complete, but Caspar Fownes won’t know the success of the operation until Classique Legend shapes to unleash his scorching late sprint at Sha Tin on Sunday.
Classique Legend arrived in Hong Kong on 11 November, presenting Fownes with a string of hurdles, not least horse health and form, before undergoing an unorthodox build-up to the HK$22 million sprint.
To face Japanese speedsters Danon Smash and Tower Of London over 1200m, as well as the best Hong Kong has to offer, the former Australian seems destined for a baptism of fire under Vincent Ho.
Purton Fined by Hong Kong Jockey Club for Tweet bloodhorse.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from bloodhorse.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.