By Alan Carasso
In an ageing group of middle-distance horses, 4-year-old Werther (NZ) (Tavistock {NZ}) can cement his status as the newest “King of the Hill” in Hong Kong when he stretches out to the metric mile and a half for the G1 Standard Chartered Champions and Chater Cup, the final top-level event of the season Sunday at Sha Tin Racecourse.
Having more than held his own in Australasia during his sophomore season, the bay has yet to set a single hoof wrong in his five local appearances. He performed admirably with placings behind the talented Sun Jewellery (Aus) (Snitzel {Aus}) in the first two legs of the 4-Year-Old series over insufficient trips, but has thrived further still in his two most recent tries over 2000m. The first of those resulted in a fast-finishing defeat of Victory Magic (NZ) (Savabeel {Aus}) in the Hong Kong Derby Mar. 20, but the latter performance–a 4 1/2-length thrashing of Military Attack (Ire) (Oratorio {Ire}) in the G1 Audemars Piguet Queen Elizabeth II Cup Apr. 24–got the attention of the racing world. The ease in the ground that afternoon may have aided his cause, but recent wet weather is likely to have the course on the soft side of good, and it's all systems go, says trainer John Moore.
“I think the further he goes, the better he goes because the way he relaxed with [jockey] Hugh [Bowman] in the QEII the other day gave a good indication that he could go further than 2400 metres,” said Moore, who saddles half of the field's runners. “He's still in top form and the surface doesn't matter–he goes on whatever. He's versatile and he'd be the pick of mine.”
Though Designs On Rome (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire})–most recently fifth in the QE II–was rolled as a heavy favorite in the C&C two seasons ago, Moore is not expecting a similar result this time.
“I don't see an upset with this horse,” he offered. “He's as genuine as the day is long–he's a very easy horse to train. He's maintained his fitness right through, so I don't see any hiccups. He'll be very hard to beat.”
Werther will try to follow in the steps of Vengeance of Rain (NZ) (Zabeel {NZ}) by adding the C&C to wins in the Derby and QE II in the same season.
Blazing Speed (GB) (Dylan Thomas {Ire}) pulled a 24-1 upset in 2014, but he too tasted defeat as a short-priced favorite in defence of his title last May. He exits a third in the QE II, a race he took out in 2015.
Helene Happy Star (Ire) (Zamindar) rates an interesting longshot, having finished a close third 12 months ago after winning the Queen Mother Memorial Cup H. He could be part of the early pace along with Ambitious Champion (NZ) (Zed {NZ}), who most recently upset this year's Queen Mother under a head's-up ride from Chad Schofield. Giovanni Canaletto (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), third in the Derby and again in the Queen Mother, completes the field.
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