By Alan Carasso
The more trainer John Size seems to ask of Tung Moon-fai's Sun Jewellery (Aus) (Snitzel {Aus}), the more he seems to give, and the chestnut will look to create a little bit of history when he runs one of the favorites in a wide-open renewal of the BMW Hong Kong Derby Sunday afternoon at Sha Tin Racecourse.
No horse has ever swept all three legs of the 4-year-old series in Hong Kong, and despite registering four wins from his five local starts at distances up to a mile, there were plenty of naysayers entering Classics season. No better than an 8-1 chance when partnered with Ryan Moore for the first time in the Hong Kong Classic Mile Jan. 24, Sun Jewellery sat handy to the pace and willed himself across the line a neck to the good of the longer-winded Werther (NZ) (Tavistock {NZ}). He had won over his fair share of punters and was the 12-5 second choice by the time that duo squared off in the Hong Kong Classic Cup Feb. 21 and the result was the same, as Sun Jewellery came from slightly further behind to hold out Werther by a head, with Eastern Express (Ire) (Fastnet Rock {Aus}) and Blizzard (Aus) (Starcraft {NZ}) not far away while dead-heating for third.
The same set of distance queries that dogged the Size-conditioned 2015 Derby hero Luger (Aus) (Choisir {Aus}) will surround Sun Jewellery, but the trainer, himself a two-time Derby winner, is somewhat hesitant to lay the two side by side.
“We haven't seen [a complete picture of] Luger's career, he's had so many interruptions, but Sun Jewellery is different in that he has had everything go his way,” Size offered. “He's had a perfect run into the race–which doesn't make his job easier–it's just that the process looks better on paper.”
Click here for the full field with comments for each runner.
Not a subscriber? Click here to sign up for the daily PDF or alerts.
