Beauty generates new admiration

– While there was a certain irony about John Moore declaring to an empty Sha Tin that the “public have got their champ back”, there was no doubt Beauty Generation yesterday gave the people what they wanted.

While the coronavirus lockout ensured fans were forced to watch from home as the dual Horse of the Year snared his eighth Group 1 victory in the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Cup over 1400m, the ageing champion’s followers made their presence felt in other ways.

Social media was abuzz after the seven-year-old’s third straight win in the race and his starting price of $1.65 proved he has lost few admirers despite being below his all-conquering best this season.

“It’s good to have the champ back and the public have got their champ back, at least for a while,” Moore said.

“We’ve got him back on song again and the racing public out there are going to say ‘our champ is back’ – there’s huge public admiration for him.”

It wasn’t Beauty Generation’s most emphatic performance but he capitalised on a rare off day from Beat The Clock to see off Ka Ying Star by 0,5 lengths, with the John Size-trained sprinter labouring into fifth.

“He got to the front and I thought he was going to cruise away and win easy, but being a little bit older and knowing what the game is about more these days, he just floated a little bit when he was in front,” jockey Zac Purton said.

“I don’t think we’re going to see him as good as he was last season but he’s very close to that and that’s good enough to be able to win some races.

“He’s sort of lost that real aggression just to put them away, he’s happy to win now but he doesn’t need to win by as far as he was before, in his mind.”

It was a welcome victory for Purton – his first Group 1 success of the season after five placings, four of those as favourite – and he didn’t hide his love for Beauty Generation, repeatedly hugging the gelding during their 14th trip to the winners’ circle together.

“The stable said they’ve got him back to where we need him to be and as always, John is right,” Purton said with a smile.

Moore sat emotionless as Beauty Generation crossed the line, preferring quiet satisfaction rather than the lavish praise he heaped on the horse so often during his 10-strong winning streak.

“I knew he still had it in him, we just had to change a few things in the way I trained him,” he said. “The defeats have been disappointing but they haven’t been by any great margin.” – South China Morning Post