Moore keen to lead Murphy into Valley’s Winning Circle
– John Moore is hopeful that Winning Circle can make an impact at Happy Valley today.
John Moore has booked visiting jockey Oisin Murphy for Winning Circle in Race 6. This Duporth three-year-old appears to be a work in progress, having raced twice without making the frame for previous handler Michael Freedman.
“I’m hoping that at Happy Valley, with that little cushion in the track, this horse will be able to perform better than he has so far. He’s a reasonable type but he’s just a bit immature, he lacks focus,” he said.
The Irishman has enjoyed a stellar year so far - featuring nine top-flight wins - and arrives for a four-meeting Hong Kong sojourn with hopes of more Group 1 success.
Hong Kong
He is slated to partner Salouen in the Hong Kong Vase and Beat The Bank in the Hong Kong Mile on Sunday, 9 December.
“It’s a fantastic day to be part of and I’ve been trying to find the right type of horses in Europe for a while now,” he said, speaking from England.
“Salouen is a horse with plenty of tactical speed who should be suited by Sha Tin and it would be great to end such a special year with a good run in one of the international races.”
Firstly, though, Murphy will head to the floodlit environs of Hong Kong racing’s historic home for rides in the first six contests on a stock eight-race Valley card, starting with the 18-race maiden Paddington in the Class 5 opening race.
There is nothing in Murphy’s batch today even remotely near the calibre of Roaring Lion, the Qatar Racing star he partnered to four Grade 1 scores in 2018, but there will be the unique Valley atmosphere, which can lift even the most mundane of fixtures.
And Moore is happy to utilise Murphy’s talents. “From what I’ve seen of him he’s risen to a very high level on the world stage pretty quickly,” he said. “We’re lucky to have jockeys of this calibre coming into Hong Kong with regularity – he looks like he’s one of the best around.
“With jockeys coming in for a short spell, like Murphy and (Silvestre) De Sousa, you’re looking for guys that will come in and really focus, because it’s not a holiday. As trainers, we want to see them come in and really show that they’re committed every time they go out and ride – it’s a serious business here and we only want to put up riders that will give 100 percent.”
Moore will rely on an established Hong Kong great as his jockey in the evening’s finale, though. Douglas Whyte will look to go back-to-back on the stable’s Good Beauty, having driven the four-year-old to a breakthrough win last start at odds of 21-1.
“I said to the owner last time that although he was big odds he definitely was an Eachway chance.
“He had done everything right leading into the race, he’d drawn well and Dougie gave him a gun ride,” he said.
“This time he’s a much fitter horse. His work leading in has been exemplary, he couldn’t have done any better and he’s drawn pretty well (No 6).”
Today’s meeting is the last at the venue before the Longines International Jockeys’ Championship on 5 December when some of the world’s best riders will compete. -