Over the next week or so as this year's event approaches Dec. 10, Alan Carasso will take a look back at his top six moments in the history of the Hong Kong International Races. Maurice ran the table in Hong Kong in 2015 and twice in 2016, including the Cup, while his compatriot Lord Kanaloa turned in one of the most compelling performances in HKIR history.
#5 MAURICE – 2016 Hong Kong Cup
Maurice (Jpn) (Screen Hero {Jpn}) arrived in Hong Kong in December 2015 as a horse on the rise and having claimed the mantle of Japan's top miler with wins in the G1 Yasuda Kinen and G1 Mile Championship. A victory over Able Friend (Aus) (Shamardal) in that year's G1 Hong Kong Mile secured a Horse of the Year title, but the best was yet to come. Instead of a title defence, the robust bay was programmed for the G1 Hong Kong Cup having proved he could stay the 2000m in winning the G1 Tenno Sho (Autumn) at home. With Ryan Moore hinting Maurice could be better at the longer trip, Maurice was odds-on in the Cup, but trailed through the middle stages by double digits as A Shin Hikari (Jpn) (Deep Impact {Jpn}) ran away up front. But Moore never panicked and Maurice split rivals under a full head of steam at the furlong marker before scampering home a much-the-best winner of his career swansong (video).
#4 LORD KANALOA – 2013 Hong Kong Sprint
Lord Kanaloa (Jpn) (King Kamehameha {Jpn}) made a bit of history at Sha Tin in 2012, becoming the first Japanese horse to win the G1 Hong Kong Sprint en route to champion sprinter honours. If anything, he improved further still into 2013, winning the G1 Takamatsunomiya Kinen (1200m), the G1 Yasuda Kinen over the metric mile (in 1:31.50) and the G1 Sprinters' S. for the second straight season. The 4-5 favourite to join the likes of Sacred Kingdom (Aus) and Silent Witness (Aus) as repeat winners of the Sprint, Lord Kanaloa landed just ahead of midfield, peeled out at the top of the stretch and turned on the afterburners from 300m to drill his rivals by five lengths in one of the most dominating performances in the history of the international races (video). Lord Kanaloa, the 2013 Horse of the Year in Japan, will finish 2017 as that country's leading freshman sire.
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