By Kit Gow/TTR AusNZ
Arrowfield Stud's Snitzel (Aus) continued his stellar weekend on Sunday with the exploits of four-year-old Cap Ferrat (Aus) in the HK$26-million BMW Hong Kong Derby at Sha Tin. Trained by last season's Hong Kong champion trainer Francis Liu, the gelding was breaking his maiden in the event, after several near misses in stakes company in Australia.
Jockey Craig Williams, fresh from winning the G3 Don Casboult Classic with Clean Energy (Aus) (Zoustar {Aus}) on Saturday, flew out for the meet and guided Cap Ferrat to victory in the third leg of the four-year-old series.
Jumping well from barrier two, Cap Ferrat settled behind the leader, finding the rail quickly and letting pacemaker Lo Rider (GB) (Harzand {Ire}) tow him into the race. Once the pack straightened out of the home turn, the gelding was asked to quicken by Williams and was able to sneak around Lo Rider, who couldn't match Cap Ferrat's pace. A late challenge came from Mark Newnham's My Wish (Aus) (Flying Artie {Aus}), who was last coming into the home straight and put in an impressive burst of speed, but Cap Ferrat stuck it out to get the verdict by a short head.
“He's never won a race until this day,” said Williams. “Full credit has to go to Francis Liu's team. The owners have really put their trust in Francis. I rode him three weeks ago and I said, 'you've got a lot of work to do'.
“I thought he was really gross, he was really full of himself. I said, 'it's a big step, I think he can place well in the Derby', but the way he got presented here today by Francis Liu is the reason why we are winning one of Hong Kong's greatest races, if not the greatest one.”
He added, “It's great to be riding all around the world. Hong Kong is a place where I was very fortunate to get contracts and they made me the rider and the person I am today. It's lovely to win the race for Francis Lui, as he was a big supporter of mine going back 20 years ago. The winning feeling doesn't get any sweeter.”
Liu, who was winning the Hong Kong Derby for the second time, having previously struck with Golden Sixty (Aus) (Medaglia d'Oro) in 2020, said “I'm very excited. I can't say I was confident [coming into the Derby], but he's a very good horse. The last two runs, he had a bad draw and he was caught wide.”
Bred by Arrowfield Stud and Belford Productions, Cap Ferrat is out of the Listed Laelia Stakes winner C'Est Beau La Vie (Aus) (Bernadini). He was a A$1.4-million purchase at the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale for Tom Magnier, before being sold privately to continue his career in Hong Kong.
Incidentally, Cap Ferrat is the second consecutive winner of the Hong Kong Derby to have been sold to the jurisdiction by Coolmore. Last year's winner, Massive Sovereign (Ire) (No Nay Never), was a €620,000 purchase for MV Magnier from Camas Park Stud at the Goffs Orby Yearling Sale, before his private sale to Hong Kong.
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