Agree (126lb) won Sunday afternoon's trophy race at Sha Tin, the Class 3 18 Districts Cup (1600m) at odds of 9.1.
Tommy Berry made the running on the John Moore-trained galloper and revealed afterwards that the five-year-old’s scaredy-cat nature probably helped him out in the run to the wire.
“He’s scared of other horses, scared of pretty much everything, so when he hears the other horses coming behind him, he really fights on,” the rider said.
The Zebedee gelding did just that when Berry kicked on at the top of the home stretch, boxing to a length and three-quarter score from Green Energy (133lb), the mount of Nash Rawiller.
“We found that if he’s in front or outside of horses he seems to race to his best. He’s the sort of horse that if you get your own way in races like that he’s very hard to run down,” Berry said.
Agree now has three wins this term, all under Berry and all achieved since the turn of the year. The stable’s retained rider took his season’s tally to 13, seven of those achieved aboard Moore-trained horses.
“We had no real expectations with this horse and he’s gone and won three, so from that point of view it’s another bonus,” Moore said. “And he can win again if he gets the races panning out like that. He doesn’t like being between horses too much, but today he got in front and he kicked like a horse that isn't done with winning yet.
“He was just well-placed and everything mapped out well, speed-wise. He got a soft enough lead and it turned out well, with the programme and the way the race mapped out, to be able to do what he did.”
Tommy Berry wins the 18 Districts Cup on the John Moore-trained Agree, picture Hong Kong Jockey Club
Refined Treasure is proving to be something of a bargain. In sluicing to a three-and a half-length victory in the Class 4 Amethyst Handicap (1000m) under under Chad Schofield, the Tony Millard-trained gelding confirmed his status as an exciting young prospect.
“I think he can be something really special if we just play it properly. He ran a very fast time here today, although the track has been quite quick lately,” Millard said after the three-year-old had clocked 56.51s for the straight 1000m, under a 133lb impost.
The Australian-bred cost only AUS$60,000 out of the Inglis Classic Yearling Sale in 2016 and has already won prize money of HK$1,003,200.
“I bought this horse for the owners and we didn’t expect him to be this good,” Millard said. “We’ve been very careful with him and we’ve been placing him nicely. He’s winning, so we’ll keep to 1000 metres for now.”
Refined Treasure is by Lope De Vega out of the Volksraad mare Spyglass Hill, and that cross that attracted Millard.
“He’s got a lot of things going for him, he’s got a beautiful pedigree, he’s the classic cross – the same as Able Friend (by Shamardal), being out of a Volksraad mare, and that’s one of the reasons I bought him,” he said.
