Fresh Werther Much the Best in Champions and Chater

By any metric, Johnson Chen's Werther (NZ) (Tavistock {NZ}) pieced together a fantastic 2015/2016 season in Hong Kong, with wins in the Derby and the G1 Audemars Piguet Queen Elizabeth II Cup. But by the time he signed off in the G1 Standard Chartered Champions and Chater Cup, he was arguably over the top, couldn't quite reel in Blazing Speed (GB) (Dylan Thomas {Ire}) and settled for a close third. Things didn't go according to script early this season, an injury forcing Werther to pass on the International Races in December, but the story had a happy ending Sunday when the 5-year-old raced away to an authoritative score at Sha Tin.

Sunday, Sha Tin, Hong Kong
STANDARD CHARTERED CHAMPIONS AND CHATER CUP-G1, HK$10,000,000, Sha Tin, 5-28, 3yo/up, 2400mT, 2:29.26, gd/fm.
1–WERTHER (NZ), 126, g, 5, by Tavistock (NZ)
1st Dam: Bagalollies (Aus) (Broodmare of the Year-NZ), by Zabeel (NZ)
2nd Dam: Lady's Night, by Ascot Knight
3rd Dam: Night Stand, by Fluorescent Light
O-Johnson Chen; B-C D Allison, C V & J A Barnao, A R Campbell, T G Heptinstall, T M Pivac & D R Platt; T-John Moore; J-Hugh Bowman; HK$5,700,000. Lifetime Record: Horse of the Year & Ch. Middle Distance Horse-HK, MGSW & MG1SP-Aus, GSP-NZ, 24-9-6-4, HK$45,981,650. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Blazing Speed (GB), 126, g, 8, Dylan Thomas (Ire)–Leukippids (GB), by Sadler's Wells. (45,000gns RNA Wlg '09 TATDEF; 45,000gns RNA Ylg '10 TATOCT; 41,000gns Ylg '10 TATDEC). O-Fentons Syndicate; B-J Sankey; T-Tony Cruz; HK$2,200,000.
3–Eagle Way (Aus), 126, g, 4, More Than Ready–Wedgewood Eagle (Aus), by Lure. (A$200,000 Ylg '14 INGEAS). O-Siu Pak Kwan; B-Segenhoe Thoroughbreds Australia Pty Ltd (NSW); T-John Moore; HK$1,000,000.
Margins: 3, NO, 4. Odds: 2-1, 81-10, Evens.
Also Ran: Helene Charisma (Fr), Gold Mount (GB), (DH) Designs On Rome (Ire), (DH) Basic Trilogy (NZ).
Click for the HKJC.com chart, sectional timing and PPs. VIDEO. Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.

Getting the blinkers off for this at the advice of jockey Hugh Bowman, Werther landed in third spot early as stablemate Basic Trilogy (NZ) (Mastecraftsman {Ire}) set a slow pace in advance of the defending champ and the field raced more or less in single file through the opening 1200 metres. It was a strung-out septet at that point, but the back markers had caught up and by the 800m point, about a half-dozen lengths covered the group, still led by Basic Trilogy. Werther, still poised from third, was pulled out into the three path by Bowman to launch his bid, while Joao Moreira gave favored Eagle Way an inside trip on the turn. Blazing Speed, in search of a third C&C overall, was first to come after the front-runner, but Werther had the move covered and hit the lead going well a furlong down. Eagle Way was in the clear and had his chances, but he couldn't quicken with Werther, who had a clear margin at the wire. Blazing Speed just held for second.

“That was all class,” trainer John Moore told HKJC's David Morgan. “The race was run to suit everybody and Hugh was able to get the horse into a nice rhythm. The key factor, too, was taking the blinkers off. When Hugh spoke to me a few weeks back he said, 'Would you consider taking the blinkers off?' and I said, 'Done'. I didn't even think about it, the blinkers just came off.”

Werther's win, a sixth in the race for the Moore stable, snapped the four-year winning streak of horses trained by Tony Cruz.

“I think it's just that my fella is getting a little bit older,” Blazing Speed's jockey Neil Callan offered. “The other horses are coming through, but one thing's for sure–he always goes down fighting like a champion.”

Pedigree Notes:

Werther is one of four Group 1 winners for his Cambridge Stud-based stallion and one of his sire's two Derby winners bred from mares by Cambridge's legendary Zabeel (NZ). A third, Tavago (NZ), has Zabeel as the sire of his second dam. Bagalollies, the Broodmare of the Year in New Zealand in 2016, has had a standing date with Tavistock since producing Werther. The mare's foal of 2014, a filly, was purchased by Sona Bloodstock for NZ$300,000 at the 2016 NZB Select Yearling Sale. Her 2015 produce, another full-sister to Werther, was knocked down to Damon Gabbedy's Belmont Bloodstock Agency for A$400,000 at last month's Inglis Easter Yearling Sale. Bagalollies foaled a third straight filly in 2016, but was not covered in the most recent breeding season.